


Pride Goeth Before Destruction

by kuscospoison



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angel! Mondo, Demon! Taka, F/F, F/M, Hand Jobs, Ishimaru is not an innocent bean in this, M/M, Miu and Kazuichi are a fuckin mess, Mondo is boo boo the fool, Sayaka is the demon mom, Seven Deadly Sins, Smut, That's right babey, You heard me, not the anime I mean the actual seven deadly sins, safe and consensual smexy times cuz Taka respects Mondo's boundaries, safe sex, sinnamon roll Taka, sorry y'all if you want pure and cinnabon Taka you came to the wrong place, vodka uncle Mondo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 03:27:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21331507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuscospoison/pseuds/kuscospoison
Summary: When he found Kiyotaka millenia after the former angel had fallen, he had never imagined that his old friend could be corrupt or worse, a demon. Turns out Mondo is a dumbass and Taka isn't as innocent as Mondo originally thought. But the two of them had underestimated the consequences of meeting each other again after all this time.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi/Ogami Sakura, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Kuwata Leon/Maizono Sayaka
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	1. The Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Ya boi is a fucken crackhead what can I say. I apologize if Taka or Mondo seem ooc at all, this was fucking hard to write but I really liked this idea and the idea of demon Taka.

It had been literally millenia since he had last seen Kiyotaka. And it was that moment when he had fallen that had stuck in his mind, haunting him since the dawn of history and civilization. The pain, the regret, the horror in those ruby eyes...and the aftermath of wanting to help him or save him or anything still felt so fresh. They had spent so much time together before that, they had been so close, but Taka had begun questioning things. He had taken the wrong side and suffered the consequences. He was fallen, ergo he did not deserve attention or forgiveness. Despite how good and pure he had been beforehand…

“Shut that shit off.” He had grumbled to one of his assistants in his bike shop, and soon enough someone went and turned the TV off. It had been playing a political campaign commercial, which just so happened to be for the former fellow angel Mondo recognized. So he was working in politics? Something that big was up his alley...he was intelligent, organized and hardworking, perhaps he was trying to atone for what had happened? Maybe he was just a fallen angel, he hadn’t become what the other original fallen had…

That was being naive, of course. But then again, he had been at a higher level than Mondo had been, higher than even Daiya. He had been one of the most devoted and disciplined of their kind, and his fall had been a huge shock for Mondo. The thought of him actually being a demon and actively corrupting mortals felt so far-fetched. Maybe assuming that Taka was the same moral and disciplined angel that he had been thousands of years ago was foolish, but...if he was anything else Mondo would feel like it was his fault. But he’d never know unless…

When he finally left the motorcycle repair shop that night, he began trying to figure out how to get in contact with Taka. He had to know, he needed answers if Taka was so close to him distance-wise. After looking up the right phone number he called the aspiring politician’s office. 

“Kiyotaka Ishimaru campaign office.” What was probably a secretary answered.

Mondo sighed. Here goes nothing. “Yeah, I was wondering if I could talk to Kiyotaka personally? If it helps my name is Mondo, I’m an old friend.” Maybe the secretary would ignore him, not bother to tell Taka he had called. Maybe he would get lucky.

After a long sigh from the secretary, they finally answered. “One minute please.” There was a long pause and after a few minutes there was an answer in a voice he hadn’t heard since humanity had first sinned. 

“Mondo. If this is who I think it is...you’re call is incredibly late and in poor taste, I must say.” 

Mondo couldn’t help but nervously laugh. “Yeah, but I mean, it’s not like I could reach out to you then. Considering...and once I started working with humans finding you would have been impossible. I saw one of your campaign commercials and I couldn’t help myself. It’s...It’s weighed on me a lot. What happened. With you. I’m...I’m sorry. I wanna reconnect, we were so close, y’know? Would you...would you wanna hang out or somethin’?” He let out a shaky exhale he hadn’t realized he had been holding, he hadn’t really felt nervous like this since...since Taka fell. Being a lower level angel meant that Mondo hadn’t really had to take on a lot of risks or do anything significant. He was more an interpersonal influencer. Helping out in a community, subtly angling people towards the path of good. That was how he operated, and while it wasn’t overly flashy Mondo felt it was rewarding enough. 

There was a stretch of silence that made Mondo worry that Taka had hung up, but then he finally answered. “Of course. I would love to have you over for dinner sometime. Are you free…” He heard the clacking of computer keys. “Thursday night?” 

Huh. He didn’t seem angry or hurt by the past, so that was good. Maybe it was foolish of Mondo to assume the guy would hold a grudge after thousands of years. “Yeah, Thursday works fine. It’ll be great to see you. I’ve ...I’ve never stopped missing you, y’know that? The talks we’d have, the fact that you gave attention to some low-level thug like me…” He snorted. “I still can’t believe you fell. You’re better than I am, for fuck’s sake.” Despite how a lot of humans thought, foul language really wasn’t a big deal. Mondo sometimes missed the Middle Ages when those words weren’t really swear words. Goddamn Victorian Era fucked him up. 

“Yes, well, we can discuss all that later. And I agree that it’ll be lovely to see you again.” Mondo couldn’t help but feel a little more at ease in the warmth in his tone (at least he read it as warmth). 

Mondo chuckled. “Right, right. You’re probably really busy, so I’ll stay outta your hair. Take care Taka, it’s really good to hear from you.” 

“You as well. And yes, being a political candidate does take up a lot of my schedule, but I can still make time to catch up with old friends. I’ll see you Thursday night, then.” 

“Yeah, seeya.” Mondo sighed as he heard Taka hang up the phone. That had gone...surprisingly well. Eerily well. Maybe it would be wise to get a second opinion on all of this...maybe he could try to talk to Sakura and Chihiro about this...or maybe not. If any of the other angels knew who he was speaking to...it could mean trouble. And sure, hiding anything from them was a really bad idea, but this...this was Taka goddammit! There was no way this could go wrong. If anything, maybe he could try and bring Taka back to the side of good (if he was even on the side of evil, which Mondo couldn’t imagine him being). No, he’d just go into this alone and hope for the best. He would have faith in his friend. 

For a big-shot politician, Taka’s home was surprisingly unimpressive and Spartan. He supposed he should have been expecting that, the former angel had never been a fan of excess. It was definitely a larger than average home, though. But that made sense too, if he was working in politics, he probably had to host things like parties, right? At least, that was the logic Mondo was using during his dinner Thursday night. 

“So, Mondo, what are you currently up to with your career?” Taka pulled Mondo out of his thoughts and observations with his questioning. His very specific and judgemental questioning. Perhaps he hadn’t meant it in that way...

Mondo sipped the wine he had been given. “Uh, I’m currently the owner of a motorcycle repair shop. It’s nothing to sneeze at, but I get a lot of lower-income family kids working there and I try to help em out where I can. Y’know, small-time kinda angel stuff.” 

Taka seemed to think for a moment, then hummed and nodded. “So you’re still an angel then. Interesting.” Oh, so...maybe he had meant it in that way. In the judgemental way. Mondo suddenly felt his stomach twist in anxiety. 

Mondo blinked. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” 

“Well.” Taka tilted his head. “Your loyalty is spotty at best, you only follow rules if you’re properly motivated, not to mention you abandoned who you considered your closest friend.” He shrugged. “I didn’t think that was what the heavens considered angelic, but...I suppose I’m the last person to be understanding that sort of thing, yes?” Taka chuckled, crimson eyes flickering with something Mondo had never seen before. Something dark.

The comment about betrayal made his heart sink. “I’m really sorry Taka, I didn’t...I didn’t know what to do.” He’d had enough higher-level angels who looked down on others tell him what they thought of his attitude. He enjoyed his job, he liked helping humans. That was all that mattered. But it still made him feel self-conscious and insecure about his position as an angel nonetheless. But...Taka had known how the others had criticized him, even before humanity had begun. Why was he rubbing it in Mondo’s face like that? Since when was he so judgemental to the point of cruelty? Then again...that was what had made him fall, wasn’t it? The fact that he was so strict and judgemental with his morals that it made everyone else unworthy in comparison. But back then Mondo had always been an exception to his scrutiny, so he hadn’t thought it was that bad. He’d never really understood why Taka had fallen, but was that the real reason?

Taka laughed. “Of course you didn’t. That’s why you left me to my own devices, didn’t you? You abandoned me because you were scared, you were a coward.” He leaned forward. “I bet you thought sweet moral Taka would be so understanding and forgive you for what you did. I bet you thought I could never become corrupt or evil.” 

Calling Mondo a coward was one of the worst insults he could be given, and it had only grown worse the older he had gotten, especially with what had happened with Taka weighing on his mind. But...how did Taka even know that? It hadn’t been that bad when they had been friends...how…”Why did you bring me here? Did you just want to bully me? I said I was sorry, I feel like shit for what happened.” He looked down, trying to keep his emotions in check. Losing his temper or getting upset would definitely fuck up any chances he had of rekindling their friendship.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and Taka’s chair was empty. How had he gotten over to him so fast? “Oh, taking you down a notch is only the prologue, my dear old friend. I want you to truly understand what you did, how incredibly foolish and cowardly you really are. And you did abandon me, just so you know. You could have followed me in my fall if you really cared. Was our friendship not important to you? Was your cowardice really enough to break your promise to stay by my side and be loyal to me?” The way his words seemed to go through Mondo...it felt like he was doing more than talking to him. It felt like he was tearing him open and exposing everything about him to be judged and condemned.

The way he was talking, it sounded almost like...no, it couldn’t be. There was no way Taka would ever… but what he was saying, he was… “That kind of talk is what made you fall, Taka, and expecting me to follow you is just...prideful. You…” He felt Taka’s hand tighten on his shoulder. Even if he knew logically that he was in no danger right now, there was this instinctive feeling of anxiety and fear running through him. It froze him in place, making his breathing grow ragged and the hand on his shoulder feel repulsive. He felt like...like a small animal trapped under the gaze of a cobra.

Oh god, he had really fucked up hadn’t he? He had walked right into a trap, trusting his old friend when he had become… “You’re a demon. A demon of pride, aren’t you?” Most demons focused on one of the seven deadly sins. He supposed he should have seen it coming. “You’re trying to fuck with me right now. The way you’re talking and using my own insecurities against me...fuck…”

“Now he finally gets it. It was so easy to draw you in, you were so desperate to believe I was still the sweet little angel you had known.” Taka laughed and Mondo saw that the nails of his hands had become sharp and more like claws that dug into the nice shirt he had worn for the occasion (and god damn Taka a second time for ruining his shirt!). “It’s so nice to see you, though. I’ve dreamed of this day for so long...Honestly I’m really usually not this strategic in my work. It doesn’t take much to angle humans towards corruption. Especially in politics. Simply encourage fanaticism and greasing the wheels and they all become easy prey. Whatever they do, they’ll be convinced they’re right for it because of their beliefs, so blinded by pride and ideals. But you...you made it so easy. You trusted me, to the point where I wonder if you questioned yourself.” 

Mondo finally looked up at him and regretted it. Those ruby eyes seemed to glow and the pupil was more like a snake’s than a human’s. Taka was giving him a fanged grin and he had small horns poking out of his forehead. His batlike wings were close to his back. Mondo should have felt disgusted at how he had become so twisted by evil and corruption, but…he was still his friend, no matter how much he had changed. Taka was right, he could never break his promise to him. Even if making eye contact made him freeze in terror, those intense red eyes making him feel so small and weak. An incompetent angel who had only ridden on the coattails of his more accomplished brother. A waste of space. 

No, no! This was all what he wanted him to feel, dammit! Even if he was in human form, that didn’t mean he had to submit to the adrenaline pulsing through him and the fear and shame Taka was making him feel. He finally managed to take a deep breath, closing his eyes and freeing himself of the demon’s near-petrifying gaze. “Damn, that’s...I’m pissed you just kinda strung me along like that, fuck you by the way, but I mean it’s good to see that you’re stayin’ busy.” He smiled a bit. “I mean, it’s sad you’ve been twisted into this, but...We’re both on different sides of the same coin, right? You’re good at tempting people, I’m good at being the emotional support for people, and I guess it was all meant to be.” He finally felt in control enough to peek open his eyes, then gently reached out and touched Taka’s wing. “You look really cool and creepy too.” 

It was, admittedly, satisfying to see Taka’s jaw drop in shock at Mondo’s reaction. “Wh...what?” 

Mondo snorted and gently pried off Taka’s clawed hand. “You get these manicured? They look pretty well taken care of.” He shook his head and stood. “Look, I know I usually get all hot-headed and angry and shit, but with you it’s different.” He shrugged. “I love you, and you look fantastic, and you’re all successful. If you’re mad at me I get it, I’m sad we couldn’t work things out, but I’m not gonna stop you from doing your job.” He smiled and pat the shorter man’s head.

Taka’s wings drooped and he seemed to wilt in disappointment. “But...I was tempting you.” his claws seemed to clench around thin air, his face twisting into an angry grimace. “You’re an angel, you’re supposed to hate me!”

“You did a good job, almost had me for a sec. And I could never hate you.” He snorted and booped his nose. “Gonna have to work a lot harder, yeah snake boy?” He bit his lip. “That’s what you’re supposed to be right?”

“I hate you. You sucked the fun out of this entire evening. And I’m technically a basilisk.” Taka glared up at him.

“It’s what you get for being a neurotic ‘n prideful lil shit.” Mondo grinned down at him. “You want me to get back in the chair and you talk at me some more? You really need to work on cutting down your monologuing.” 

Taka’s face twisted. “Are you giving me tips on how to tempt people?” 

Mondo shrugged. “I mean, you gotta do your job, may as well do it right. Plus you deserve it for calling me a coward.” 

“Then why show me any kindness?” 

“Cuz I made a promise to you, all those years ago. And I always keep my word.” Mondo sighed and gently touched Taka’s cheek. “I promised I’d always be your friend, that I’d never stop believing in you and loving you.”

Taka slumped and grumbled. “You’re a jerk.”

Mondo chuckled and sat back down, finally digging into the meal he had been given. “Aw, it’s cold now. Couldn’t you have saved all the temptation shit for after dinner?” Mondo ate a bite of the chicken anyway, humming. “‘S good though. You make this yourself? Also do you mind if I let my wings out? I never get to stretch ‘em out and they get so stiff…” 

Taka had trudged back to his own seat, his wings drooping almost until they touched the floor. His forked tongue darted out as he moped. He rested his chin on his palm and pouted, seeming to ignore Mondo. 

“Can you heat this up? ‘M still hungry, even if this body is just a way to appear to humans it still needs food.” Mondo mumbled. “‘M sorry for takin’ the wind outta your sails, if I pretend the past ten minutes didn’t happen you can try again?” He decided that Taka didn’t mind if he let his wings out and unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, then let his wings unfold with a sigh of relief. 

Taka finally got up and took his and Mondo’s plates, grumbling to himself and walking off to what Mondo assumed was the kitchen. He came back and set the plate down a little more aggressively than what was normal. “My cook made it. I can ask her for the recipe if you want it.” He said with 99% less energy than he usually had and went back to his own seat with his plate of food. 

Mondo nodded. “Sweet, cooking is a lil hobby on the side for me so I’ll have to try this out for myself.” He looked over at the unresponsive, pouting demon and sighed. “C’mon, are you gonna just spend the rest of our reunion pouting like a toddler?”

“Yes.”

Mondo sighed. “You should’ve known I wasn’t on edge or anything, I wasn’t even all that nervous.” He snorted. “I always yell when I’m nervous, you know that.”

Taka ran a hand through his hair, expertly avoiding the horns on his forehead. “Upon reflection I should have picked up on that, yes. But I figured my gaze would be enough to catch you off guard.” He sighed. 

Mondo nodded. “So can we be friends again? I would understand if you don’t but...I really wanna spend time with you again. Cuz you were my closest friend, and I love you.” 

Taka glared at him, but then his expression changed. “Love...yes.” He smiled a bit. “You love me.”

“Yeah, cuz we’re friends.” 

“Mmhm. I suppose I could find it in myself to forgive you.” Taka hummed and his forked tongue flicked out, eyes narrowing as he tilted his head at Mondo. 

Looking back, Mondo should have seen that Taka was coming up with some other plan. But...he was an angel, so he still had so much naivete when it came to certain things. Certain human things that angels weren’t supposed to partake in. He should have realized where Taka was shifting his plan, with those bright eyes and weird grace that he had gained as a demon. But he was an idiot. “That’s awesome! I’m super fuckin’ happy you forgive me! This has weighed on me since you fell dude!”

“Oh it’s weighed on you? Being a fancy celestial angel unbound by the laws of nature and Earth? It weighed upon you when you had all the freedom and the sense of calm that was stripped from me when I was cast down to this bitch of an Earth?” Taka spit at him with a glare.

“Okay, point taken. It’s still great that you’re forgiving me. It’s a step in the right direction. Maybe hanging out with me will bring you back into the light!” He grinned at his old friend. 

Taka made a pff sound and glared at Mondo. “Yeah, like I’d want to go back after--” He stopped himself and sighed. “Nevermind. Perhaps you will.” He smiled. Maybe this would all work out and Mondo would be able to redeem the demon. At the very least it would be fun to reconnect with an old friend, even if he wasn’t successful. Either way, what could possibly go wrong?

As he watched Mondo drive away from Taka’s home on his motorcycle, Taka couldn’t help but admit that leading the angel down the path of corruption was going to be one of the most entertaining and challenging feats he had taken up in millenia. He had missed the other angel, certainly. When he had fallen he had cried for him, begged for him to find him. But he had never came, and Taka never forgot that. 

At this point the demon was uncertain if this was motivated by a desire for vengeance or if he just wanted Mondo for himself, on his side. It was cute that Mondo believed he could somehow redeem Taka. And by cute he meant incredibly naive, because he of all the demons knew that redemption was impossible. There was no going back once you fell, no matter how much Taka had tried to fight becoming a demon and the physical and metaphysical changes it had caused. But he’d let the angel have his naivete, if it meant he’d stick around and allow the demon to do his own work. 

He sighed as he began getting ready for bed. There was that teeny tiny part of him that felt guilty for his plans. That still loved Mondo in that pure and trusting way that he had before his fall. But what else could he do? They would always be divided as they were now. Working against each other. And after seeing the angel again he couldn’t help but want to have the closeness they had had before (albeit in a much less PG sense in some ways). Maybe it was selfish of him to do this, but he was a demon for crying out loud. And after being stuck in a physical form and being around humans for so long, he couldn’t help but want that closeness and that kind of relationship. 

Tonight had been a learning experience, despite the failure. He had gone in believing he could use Mondo’s insecurities against him and draw him in that way, but it seemed he would have to change his methods. Which meant working outside his expertise, since he was a demon of pride and this would require a more lustful approach. He’d be tempting an angel, after all. Someone who had never needed nor wanted sex, so he’d have to go in with as much information and research as he could. He’d need to make a few phone calls and set up a meeting or two to get what information he needed. 

It was just his just his luck that he knew a succubus and incubus, then. They worked together in a strip club, if he remembered correctly. He still had Sayaka’s personal cell number, he’d have to give her a call and maybe meet her and Leon for lunch sometime? Or perhaps a text would suffice, if Taka could figure out his damn phone. He had always been awful with new technology, despite living among humans since the beginning of human civilization. You’d think by now he would be used to the changes in human technology. He wasn’t. 

After some trial and error he finally sent her a text asking to meet for lunch tomorrow, then went to brush his teeth. When he returned he was pleasantly surprised to have received a reply that Sayaka and Leon would, apparently, love to meet and catch up with him. The fact that those two were still together after all this time made him want to gag a bit and at the same time go green with envy. How they could still stand each other after a century, let alone millenia was beyond him. 

He’d find out tomorrow, he supposed, as he crawled into bed.


	2. The Consultation (and Failure)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have...no words for this. There is crackheadery and angst. So much angst. I apologize in advance

He regretted finding out how the couple stayed together after going to their apartment for lunch. 

When he had rung the doorbell he had been greeted by a grinning and bloodstained Leon. “Yo, Kiyotaka! How’s it goin’? We been handing out your campaign shit in our clubs like you asked.” 

“Ah, yes. Thank you for th--” Before Taka could even finish his sentence Leon coughed blood onto him and Taka made a breathy yelping sound as he fell on his face in the hall. Taka barely managed to step aside, and when he did he saw that Leon had a steak knife embedded in his back. 

“Hey Taka! Sorry about that, the bastard forgot to defrost the chicken so I scrambled his heart and lungs!” Sayaka giggled and began dragging Leon back into their apartment. 

Taka knew that, being a demon, Leon would be fine. He would regenerate and be back to normal in under an hour. But this?!? This was nuts! “Is...is this a normal thing for you two?” 

Sayaka nodded as she dragged Leon to the middle of the living room area, letting his head hit any corner or obstacle. “Mhm! We found that expressing our anger outright like that is super helpful. Plus the violence really adds to the sex sometimes.” 

“Okay, I could have spent the rest of eternity happy not knowing that.” He hoped that he and Mondo, if everything went as planned, didn’t turn out like this. Then again, Leon and Sayaka were...a special kind of people. Even if they hadn’t been demons of lust and sex. 

Sayaka nodded. “Fair enough. You mind if I order pizza?” She let Leon’s legs drop with an ungraceful thump, heaving out a tired breath and fixing her hair. 

Taka nodded rigidly. “I don’t mind, pizza sounds fine.” He had allocated plenty of time in his schedule for this, so a delay in the food was acceptable. 

Sayaka pulled out her phone. “Awesome, I’ll just order two large plain pizzas and we have drinks here. Leon gets leftovers though, for being an incompetent bitch.” 

Leon, who was coming to, groaned and gave Sayaka the finger. “Fuck you you manipulative snake.” Taka couldn’t help but take offense to that. Even if he himself was manipulative and suspiciously reptilian in his true form.

“Love you too sweetie!” Sayaka said as she finished ordering the pizza on her phone. “So what can we do for you, Mr. Big shot politician?” Sayaka smiled warmly at him. 

“Oh, um, well. I’ve told you about Mondo right? The angel I was friends with before I fell?” 

Leon reached behind him and began yanking out the steak knife in his back, groaning in pain. “God, have you. You wouldn’t fuckin’ shut up about him for the first couple hundred years we knew you.” 

“He’s got a point hon. You really like him, that much is obvious. Have you reconnected with him or something?” She grinned. “That’s amazing!” And it really was. Once an angel fell, any connections they had to those around them were broken and it was nearly impossible to find those they had been close to. Becoming a demon meant remaking yourself from the ground up and starting a new life. Which meant that Taka was being a little unreasonable when he was mad at Mondo for not talking to him since his fall. But internalized guilt was a glaring weakness the angel had and Taka had wanted to exploit it.

Taka blushed at being exposed over his feelings for the angel. “Yes, well I tried to tempt him last night and failed miserably.” 

“Oof.” Leon mumbled into the floor, and Taka wasn’t sure if he was responding to Taka or just vocalizing the pain of removing a steak knife and bleeding out on the hardwood floor (which had a disturbing amount of stains in it that disturbingly looked like blood). “So you wanna try and fuck him into the path of corruption? Nice.” 

Taka’s face became bright red. “Wh--I didn’t say that!” 

Sayaka snorted and sat on the couch, putting her feet up on Leon’s back, right over his wound. “Didn’t have to. Why else would you come to us about it?”

Leon mumbled. “Jokes on you, I’m almost healed.” He smirked and began tickling the bottom of Sayaka’s foot and she yelped and pulled her feet off giggling. What the actual heck was happening here?!? They had been calling each other names and MURDERING each other for Pete’s sake! And now Leon was pulling himself up onto the couch and kissing Sayaka’s cheek?!? 

Sayaka caught Leon’s lips in a kiss. “Go shower stinky bastard.” She smiled. “And get Taka a water bottle please.” 

Leon grumbled and went to the fridge (albeit somewhat slowly) and grabbed Taka a water bottle, who had happened to be getting a bit thirsty and Sayaka had somehow guessed that with that creepy intuition of hers. He then went down the hall to his and Sayaka’s room. “I’m gonna steal pizza when I get out! Imma come out in my birthday suit for it if I gotta!” He yelled. “Also I’m totally gonna strangle you later!”

Sayaka snorted. “In a kinky way?” She called back to him. 

There was a pause, then from their room Leon distantly yelled “maybe” and then Taka heard the shower turn on. Why couldn’t he have befriended some other succubi or incubi? Why did it have to be these two nutcases? They were both great friends and had been there for Taka since he had first fallen, but god had they gotten a lot harder to deal with when they had gotten together. And now that he was finally catching up with them in their own home he realized just how crazy things were. 

Sayaka sighed happily. “I’m gonna let him have a slice. One slice. That’s it.” She hummed. “So, tell me about this guy. What’s he doing?”

Taka sighed, he didn’t want to seem like he was gushing but he couldn't help himself. “He runs a motorcycle repair shop and is an ‘upstanding member of the community’ or whatever. He also rides a motorcycle and he drove one to my house. When I tried to make him feel guilty and awful for what he’d done, and told him what I had become, he just...he told me he loved me and that he was glad I was keeping busy? It was so disappointing…” He grumbled and folded his arms. 

“Aww, that’s so sweet that he just accepts you like that. He sounds like a real keeper, it’s gonna be hard to tempt him and then stay with him afterwards. Since, y’know, that could break his trust in you if you don’t do it right.” She hummed. “So I would approach things more slow and domestically, which I think is more your speed since you went as red as a tomato when we gave you a dildo for Christmas that one year.” Taka couldn’t help but glare at her over the memory of that. Opening that godforsaken gift in front of everyone (including demons who would never let him live it down like Hiro and Celeste) had been a horrifying experience. He was a demon of pride, after all, and in that moment his dignity and privacy had never been more threatened. He had an image to maintain, goddammit!

Sayaka just snickered and continued. “Just try to get more acquainted with him, since you both have probably changed a lot, right?” 

Taka shrugged. “He doesn’t seem to have changed all that much.” He didn’t have to, since he hadn’t been cast to the earth and forced to remake himself despite the shame and fear (as Taka had). If anything he had simply modernized, which was only to be expected.

Sayaka hummed. “Either way, you’ll need to get him to fall in love with you in a more romantic way. Which won’t be easy, considering he probably doesn’t understand things like romance and sex since angels aren’t really allowed to get into that stuff.” 

“How did you and Leon end up together?” 

Sayaka thought for a minute. “Well, I guess since we’re both demons of lust it was easier to see each other as more than just objects, and it helped us really connect. We talked, we hung out, did you-know-what and just slowly became more and more comfortable with each other. You just gotta be patient I guess. But a few nudges would probably help. Take advantage of the fact that he’s in a human body while he’s here and get him hot and bothered sometimes. Don’t be creepy or push yourself on him, though.”

Taka rolled his eyes. “Obviously. I’m a demon, not an idiot.” He shook his head. “This isn’t going to be easy, but...for him it’ll be worth it. As angry and resentful as I was towards him...a part of me felt so broken and lost without him, when I fell. He’s irrational and angry and is terrible at following the rules, but at the same time he’s loyal and caring. I can’t help but feel a little guilty for wanting to corrupt him, but it comes with the territory, I suppose. At least he’ll be willing to spend time with me more frequently, he seems to be under the impression that he can redeem me.”

“That’s so sweet! I hope it works out for you two. Maybe he’ll even become one of us, yeah?” She winked. 

Would that be a good thing? To corrupt the angel to the point of becoming a demon? Taka wasn’t so sure of that, especially since his own experience of becoming a demon after his fall had been long and painful. But then again, he hadn’t had anyone to care for him (at first) and he had resisted it up until the very end. But it had been a futile effort, considering all of his hope and friendships had been taken away from him. He wouldn’t wish that pain and despair on anyone, but if he were there to help Mondo then perhaps it would be different. “I don’t know about that. He doesn’t seem to harbor any of the sins.” 

Sayaka snorted. “Cuz he’s an angel, silly. You gotta dig deep to find it.”

“I know that when I was still an angel I was definitely prideful, so I’m not sure I can agree with you.” It had been a much less twisted and pure sense of pride, but it had been pride nonetheless. Even if he hadn’t seemed to have any potential to become one of the fallen on the outside, Taka knew that his fall had been a long time coming. Pride was the worst of the sins, after all, and Taka knew that better than anyone.

The demoness seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged. “Maybe. I know that for me it was different, I wasn’t as aware of it. Angels aren’t sexual beings, though, so that might have affected it. I had just wanted a closeness with another angel that I didn’t really understand.” She hummed. “I just know that meeting people like you and Leon helped me a lot. It made this world so much more bearable, and it made me miss everyone less. As much as I know you hate what we’ve all become, I’m happier for it. Everything happens for a reason, right?” She smiled. 

The doorbell rang and Sayaka squeaked happily, then jumped off the couch and answered the door. Sure enough, it was the pizza being delivered. She thanked the delivery person in what was almost a happy chirrup and closed the door. “Pizza!” She practically sang in excitement, setting the box down on the table in the apartment kitchenette, then went to the cabinet and grabbed some plates. Taka couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm and flourish. 

When Leon came out of the shower he seemed to have abandoned any illusions of humanity, letting his true form show. Most demons took on animalistic traits, and Leon had seemed to take after a bull, what with his larger horns and hooves instead of normal human legs. He had also abandoned his modesty, much to Taka’s disapproval, coming out with only a towel wrapped around his waist. As he approached Sayaka Taka could see the scars where Leon’s wings had rotted and fallen off, (not for the first time) feeling grateful that his form had allowed him to keep his wings even if they were demented from their original appearance. 

Funny enough, as the bull demon grabbed himself a plate and a few slices of pizza, Sayaka gave no protests. 

“You did WHAT?” 

Mondo winced at the uncharacteristic harshness in Chihiro’s tone. He knew the reactions to his interacting with a demon (and a powerful one no less) were not going to be positive, but to have an angel who was normally so gentle yell at him was a shock. “He took it pretty well! He even agreed that I might be able to help him back on the straight and narrow, that’s a good sign right? You can’t blame me for wanting to help out an old friend.” 

Chihiro groaned loud enough for Mondo to hear them over the phone. “Demons can’t be redeemed, Mondo. That isn’t how it works. Please, for your own sake, don’t speak to him again. If you rub elbows with a demon you’ll only be pulling yourself down.” There was a pause, and the gentleness in Chihiro’s voice returned. “Don’t get yourself hurt over this guy, okay? Even if you were close before, he’s not the same person as he was then.”

“I know that, dinner showed me that much. But I promised him back then I’d always be there for him, that I’d always love him. And I’m gonna keep my promise, I’m sorry if that’s going against the rules but tough shit.” Mondo wasn’t afraid to bend the rules sometimes, even if he was an angel. If you wanted to make an omelette, you had to break some eggs. 

“I’m not talking about rules, I’m talking to you as your best friend. This isn’t a conversation between an archangel and their subordinate, this is me worrying about you and trying to keep you from self-destructing.”

Mondo sighed heavily and let a pregnant pause develop between them before speaking. “We’re going out for dinner this Friday.”

“Mondo--”

“I wasn’t asking for permission. I’m not doing anything wrong by hanging out with him, yknow? This is just two friends hangin’ out. I’ll be fine, I resisted him before and I can do it again. Have a little more faith in me, okay?”

Chihiro sighed. “It sounds more like a date to me. He’s going to try to be sneaky, you know that right?” 

Mondo nodded. “Once bitten twice shy, buddy. I’ll be fine. ‘S not a date, and I’ll make sure he gets that.”

“Fine, just be careful. If you don’t call me after the date I’m gonna assume the worst.” 

Mondo snorted. “Stop worryin’, it’ll be fine. I’ll call you Friday night, then. Seeya Chihiro.”

“Bye, Mondo. Take care of yourself.”

Mondo nodded and hung up the phone. Easy for them to tell him what to do, They didn’t even do field work like he did. Must be fuckin’ nice.

Mondo wasn’t surprised when Taka was late for their date, since he seemed to have a busy and strict schedule. He was caught up in the middle of his campaign (and all of the bribes, racketeering, and kickbacks that apparently stacked that campaign in his favor), so Mondo was just grateful the demon could make time in his day for him. He had been nursing a beer in the bar they had settled on meeting at when Taka came speedwalking in. He looked like he hadn’t even had time to change out of his work clothes, only removing the tie he had probably worn. 

“Apologies for my lack of punctuality.” Taka sat next to him at the bar, grabbing a menu and looking at it.

Mondo smiled. “No, you’re good. I get that you’re busy being a mastermind political guy.”

“I’d prefer we not discuss the nature of my work in public like this, if you don’t mind. I can’t have my image tarnished.” Taka mumbled.

“Right, right. Sorry.” Mondo sipped his beer. 

Taka glanced over at him. “I didn’t think you were allowed to have alcohol.”

Mondo chuckled. “Well I’m not not allowed to have it, so I’m havin’ it.” He shrugged. “What the higher ups don’t know won’t hurt ‘em. Same thing goes for smoking.”

Taka wrinkled his nose. “A nasty habit.” 

Mondo grinned at him. “What? Are you gonna tell me it’ll give me lung cancer? That it’ll kill me?” He snorted and took another long sip of his beer.

“I meant it makes everything you own stink and turns your teeth yellow. Also it’s incredibly unrefined.” 

“Okay Mr. Snooty Pants.” Mondo smirked and stuck his tongue out at him. 

Taka rolled his eyes but seemed to smile to himself. After he ordered a drink (some fancy sounding wine) he looked over. “So how are things in your little bike shop?”

Mondo blushed and shrugged. “Pretty good. Business is okay, plus the people I have working there are pretty cool. My one assistant almost chopped off his own finger today.” He snorted. He looked over and saw that Taka was listening to him intently. Was he calculating how to fuck with Mondo some more? He hoped not, he was tired. It had been a long-ass week. Or maybe the demon was genuinely interested in what he had to say, maybe he wasn’t as scheming and evil as Chihiro seemed to suspect. He wanted to believe Taka still had some good in him, he wanted to believe they could still be friends. 

“How did they do that? Are there really so many opportunities to do that sort of thing in your kind of business?”

“Well, yeah, kinda. But this kid is just a dumbass, he’s not careful. I mean, he’s not a dumbass, he’s really good. He’s still in high school and he can do a lotta shit with cars and bikes already, but…” Mondo shrugged. “He’s not careful. But he’s a good kid, even if he’s…” He looked down.

Taka tilted his head. “If he’s what?”

Mondo sighed. He really shouldn’t be telling anyone about this, but at this point it was hard to avoid. Kazuichi was a good kid, but the cards seemed to be stacked against him from the beginning. “He’s a half-demon.” He mumbled, trying to be subtle. “He doesn’t do anything bad or especially shady, he just gives off this...vibe, y’know? Makes him get avoided and bullied a lot. I try to be there for him, but there’s only so much I can do.” He shrugged. 

Taka frowned. “Does he know?”

“I don’t think. I don’t really wanna tell him.” 

“You should, I think he deserves to know why he’s being treated the way he is. And if he knows he could figure out a way to control how he influences people.” Taka sipped his wine. “It’s quite easy once you get the hang of it, it’s an ability pretty much every demon has and it’s one of our best tools in tempting humans. But if he doesn’t understand that I can see how he might be accidentally making people feel negatively.” He smiled a bit. “For example, you felt my natural influence when I tempted you.” 

Mondo scowled. “You mean that feeling like I was weak and pathetic and nothing I ever did would be good enough for you?”

“Precisely. That was my pride and judgement. Although some of your anxiety might have been due to my natural influence as a basilisk demon.”

“How nice.” Mondo grimaced and sipped his beer. So demons could influence people in that way? That wasn’t fair, he didn’t have any fancy powers like that. He just helped people, sometimes he could do some extraordinary things, and he generally was stronger,faster, and could heal better than a human, but otherwise he was normal. Maybe he was in over his head with this one. “I know you’re busy all the time, but maybe you could help talk to him? Since you know more about this than I do?”

Those ruby eyes narrowed and seemed to burn through him in their intensity for a minute, then Taka tilted his head. “I don’t see why not. Just give me some dates and times and I can try to work something out.” He smirked and sipped his wine. “But I’m not doing it for free.”

“Of course not.” Mondo grumbled into his beer.

“I want something in exchange. It’s nothing too major or detrimental. Just a kiss.”

“On the cheek?”

“On the lips.” Taka gave him a lidded look as he sipped more wine, practically giving him bedroom eyes. It made Mondo’s stomach turn in a weirdly pleasant and confusing way that he had never experienced before. “I want some tongue action as well.”

“I dunno how to do that.” 

Taka chuckled and his eyes seemed to flash with their more reptilian look, his fangs showing for a moment. “Don’t worry, I do.”

Mondo raised a brow. “You do?” How had he learned that? Who the hell touched Taka? He’d fucking kick their ass!

Taka hummed and nodded. “When I first fell, I was lonely, so...I submitted to some more carnal pleasures. It was an off-and-on friends with benefits sort of thing. I really had no feelings for him, he’s a friend.” Mondo wanted to find this guy and pound his face into a pulp, he wanted to get angry, and he didn’t even understand why. It wasn’t like he had that kind of relationship with Taka. They were just friends. But the thought of Taka being with someone else made him briefly see red, and that was some dangerous thinking. 

In the end Mondo could only frown and sip his wine. “Fine. I’ll kiss you. But if I find out who this asshole is that did shit with you...I’ll…” He clenched his fists. 

Taka grinned. “You’ll what? Kill him? How un-angelic of you.” 

“Shut up. That isn’t what I was going to say.” Lies. He had just lied. Maybe Chihiro had been right about not hanging around a demon. 

Taka leaned forward. “Yes it was, I can sense it. You’re jealous of him? After you abandoned me to my punishment? Even if you don’t have anything to be jealous of, the fact that you envy him is...well, it’s certainly intriguing.” He leaned forward, whispering in his ear. “If we’re being honest, he has more of a right to my affections than you do.” 

Mondo felt his beer bottle shatter in his hands, the extra strength of being a supernatural being adding to his rage. “Shut the fuck up. Don’t ever say that again!” He shouted, starting to feel more on edge.

“Why? We’re just friends, aren’t we? Why should you care if I sleep around?” He was so close to Mondo’s ear, Mondo could feel his hot breath and the way his lips tickled his ear and he couldn’t help but bite his lip. 

It was apparently Mondo’s lucky day when the bartender came over. “You guys okay?” They saw Mondo’s hand and their eyes went wide. “Uh, I think he needs to go to the ER.”

“I don’t--” Mondo was stopped when Taka stood and grabbed his arm.

“Of course, I’ll drive him to the ER. Don’t worry, we won’t be suing you for medical damages, not yet anyway. As far as I know this is due to my boyfriend’s stupidity.” 

The bartender seemed to want to protest, but Taka’s intimidating stare seemed to deter them and they backed off. Mondo could only follow the smaller man out of the bar, trying to ignore the fluttery feeling in his stomach at being called Taka’s boyfriend. 

Taka let go of him when they finally got out to the parking lot. “He was there for me when you weren’t. He comforted me when I was lost and lonely. Honestly, I don’t blame you for not contacting me. I understand why you did, but...it didn’t make everything hurt any less.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “But it was a fling, a rebound, nothing more.”

Mondo grit his teeth and glared down at his healing hand. “I know that logically. I don’t know why the fuck I’m getting all pissed like this...being with you in that way isn’t something that can happen. You know that, so why...why are you doing this to me?” Mondo looked over at him, eyes full of hurt. “Why are you trying to make me do something that will ruin everything for me?”

Taka sighed and shrugged. “Because I want that. Call me selfish, but seeing you again has changed a lot of my priorities lately. I thought I’d be happy with just working in politics and leading humans to corruption but...I want more. I want you, I want you with me. I want things to be like they were before I fell, but with more…” He blushed. “More carnal affections. When you called I thought I’d get some revenge, feel satisfied, then move on. But I was so wrong.” He swallowed hard, red eyes avoiding Mondo’s. “I can give you whatever you want, I have money and influence. I’ll give you whatever you desire if...if you just stay with me.”

There was an uncomfortable stretch of silence where Mondo tried to think of how to respond to Taka’s confession. He wanted more too, even if it was against the rules. But the only thing really keeping him from becoming a fallen angel was his brother and Chihiro, and even then...with Taka back in his life those people were becoming less and less important and that scared him a bit. Taka was pushing him closer and closer to an edge that he had feared and avoided for thousands of years. The pressure of that was becoming too much. “I don’t think we should meet up like this anymore.”

He looked over and the demon’s red eyes were shining with...was he crying? Oh god, oh fuck, shit… “Mondo, I...I’m sorry. Please.” He reached out for his hand. “I won’t do that again, I promise, just please don’t leave me again.” He was barely keeping his voice steady, all of the intimidation and intensity gone. 

Or was this just another way to lure him further into a trap? Was he just pretending to show weakness and vulnerability to Mondo? Fuck, these mind games were too much for him. He wasn’t strong enough or smart enough for any of this. He finally shook his head. “You really expect me to believe you after the shit you pulled? You want me to think these aren’t fake tears?”

“They’re not fake, I’m not faking it, please believe me.” Taka grabbed his arm. “I haven’t lied to you at all when I was talking to you. I don’t want to hurt you, I just...please don’t leave.” He sniffled. “I’ll do anything you want, just--”

Mondo shoved his arm off. “Just fucking stop it okay? You’re a fucking grown man crying like a little kid. This is all making me do a lot of shit I’m not supposed to be doing and I can’t just, I can’t.” He growled and shook his head. “I like what I do. I like my job, the friends I have. I don’t wanna fuck anything up. You were my friend, and I still love you, but...I think maybe distance is what’s safer.” He finally completely pulled away from Taka and went over to his Motorcycle, getting on. He could hear Taka sobbing behind him and it felt like his heart was being torn in half. But no matter what happened, he knew that if this continued it would only end in destruction. So he ignored the other man and started his motorcycle, quickly driving away.


	3. Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taka bawls to Sayaka, Mondo get's yelled at by some angelic lesbians, and he is also the vodka uncle to Kazuichi and Miu. And then Taka smooches him. Nuff said.

Sayaka was hanging out with Leon in the dressing rooms in the club she was currently working in when her phone rang. She would have let it go to voicemail since her breaks weren’t exactly long and she wanted to enjoy her time with Leon (who was also on break from his job at the club that was across the street) before having to go out and shake her ass for a bunch of middle-aged dudes, but when she saw the caller ID was for Taka she immediately answered. “Taka? What’s up, how’d the date go?”

At first there was only sobbing on the other end, which made Sayaka’s heart sink. The poor guy was still a bit of a crybaby despite his age and how powerful of a demon he was. “He, he said...he didn’t want...he told me we shouldn’t see each other anymore!!!” Sayaka had to hold the phone away from her ear at the sheer volume of that part, but hearing Taka become a sobbing and sniffling mess was also hard to listen to.

“I’m so sorry sweetie, can you tell me what happened? I can try to get people to cover for us and me ‘n Leon can try to help calm you down.” She looked over and Leon gave her a questioning look. She could only mouth “Taka” in response, to which he responded with a look of understanding and a quiet “ohhh.”

“No, no, don’t, don’t miss work for me! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, have bothered you!” Yeesh, Sayaka hoped Taka at least was in a private place, the way he was bawling. The fact that he was a demon of pride made times like this feel like total whiplash. Usually he acted like he was on the moral high ground, judging everyone as unworthy. But tear away that facade and underneath was an emotional wreck who, in reality, was just making people feel the same way he felt most of the time. But, of course, he was too prideful to admit to that kind of insecurity outside of the safety of friends. 

Sayaka shook her head. “Taka, you’re fine, just tell me what happened.”

He sniffled loudly and then seemed to attempt to compose himself before speaking. “I pushed too hard, I know I did. I told him about how Hiro and I had fornicated when I first fell. I didn’t say any names, though. But it still made him really lose his composure, so I thought maybe push it a little further and see what happened and he just…” There was another loud sniffle. “I really screwed up. When I started crying he said I was faking it.” 

Sayaka winced and held the bridge of her nose. “Honey, you don’t use jealousy to get a guy closer to you.” She noticed Leon wince at her words in the corner of her eye. “Pushing him like that is only gonna make him become more guarded to you. Forcing him to face those feelings so quickly probably scared him. And he sounds like kind’ve a macho guy so the crying probably made him really uncomfortable.” 

“I KNOW!” He sobbed and once again Sayaka had to hold the phone away from her ear. “I know that now. I’m not used to such personal temptation, I usually work on a larger scale. And I thought if I told him what my real intentions were he’d understand and then we’d move on. I just...I didn’t want him to leave me again.” Oh boy, here comes Taka’s abandonment issues. It seemed that the evening had been rough for both of them. Rather than his lack of experience when it came to one-on-one temptation, Sayaka guessed that it was his fear of abandonment that drove him to push harder than he should have.

“But if you’re playing all these mind games and manipulating him he isn’t going to believe that you genuinely love him and want to be with him. You need to turn it down a notch, hon, you’re overwhelming the poor guy. I’m really sorry he left you like that, but you can’t expect him to just be won over if you’re putting so much pressure on him.” 

“What do I do?” Taka whimpered.

Sayaka sighed and looked at Leon, who only responded with a blank and confused look. “I would wait a day or two and then apologize to him. Let him cool down and then tell him you’re sorry for what you said.” 

There was some more sniffling, then Taka finally answered with a weak “okay.”

"Do you need someone to come over and check up on you?" She bit her lip. "You want me to send Hiro?" Even if the demon of greed was in a relationship now, he would still probably be the best person to comfort Taka. 

"God, no. I just need some time to reflect and plan. I'll be fine." He sighed heavily and Sayaka didn't want to admit that she felt a little relieved. “The apologizing part is going to be especially hard, but... perhaps I could let go of my pride for once. For him.”

Sayaka nodded. "Okay, if you need anything, lemme know and we'll stop by. I'm sorry this happened, sweetie. We're here if you wanna talk more." She didn't necessarily want to talk more but Taka didn't need to hear that right now. It was just that she knew the relationship he had with this angel was…complicated and she didn’t want to touch it with a ten foot pole. But the amount of time they had known each other, their friendship, and Sayaka’s natural ability to charm and manipulate people dragged her into dealing with him. Maybe it would be good to pass this onto another friend...or at least try to. Hiro may have been the best at comforting the basilisk demon, but he was probably a bad idea at this point, seeing as that could only cause more drama. 

"Thank you. Goodnight Sayaka, good luck with work."

"Night Taka." She looked at her phone and he had already hung up on her. She could only sigh and shake her head in defeat.

Mondo was quickly realizing that contacting Taka in the first place had been a huge mistake. He had thought that distancing himself from the demon after that disaster of a date would allow him to recover and save himself from corruption. That perhaps Taka’s influence had made him feel those urges and desires, that it was Taka’s fault that he had not only lied but had allowed himself to envy another person as well. If he just got rid of the object of his desire and temptation, he’d be fine, right?

Even if he wanted to blame it all on the demon, the damage was done. He was tainted, and it had begun to show the night he got home from their date. He hated how the thought of someone else being close to Taka, being with him in...that way made his blood boil and made him feel a rage that he had never experienced before. The more he tried to forget it, the more he thought about how this other demon probably had been able to spend more time with Taka, that he had probably gotten to know Taka as he had changed into what he was now. That was the real reason he was so envious of this guy, wasn’t it? It wasn’t just the sex. It was that someone else had Taka’s friendship and affection. Mondo was starting to realize that now that he had gotten to spend time with the demon after all this time, the idea of sharing made him a lot more violent than usual. Which wasn’t even fair to Taka, it wasn’t like Mondo owned the demon. So why was he freaking out like this? This feeling that confused and frustrated Mondo to no end just wouldn’t leave him alone, and distancing himself from Taka was only making that jealousy worse.

To the point where he was literally rotting from it.

It had started as a mild soreness in his wings and soon had developed into a horrifying, necrotic infection. His wings were going green with envy over all of this. He wanted so badly to blame it all on the demon for rubbing what had happened in his face, but he knew it wasn’t true. He had felt the beginnings of this sick, rotting feeling for so long. He had been jealous of other angels’ success and recognition, he had been jealous of humans and how they could have so much more freedom and choice in their lives. He knew he was doomed, that it was only a matter of time. 

He had spent all this time hating himself and feeling guilty, like his work was more of a penance than anything. He thought if he ignored the resentment, the loneliness, the self-hatred in his heart it wouldn’t affect him. Taka had only made him bluntly face it. Mondo had believed he could somehow control his feelings, only expressing them through rage. He had been wrong, and now...he was beginning to face the consequences. 

He had started drinking a lot to deal with the pain (and to also numb the guilt of abandoning Taka yet again), making the past week or so become a fuzzy haze in his consciousness. He had been in and out of the bike shop, barely working. At least he had enough employees that he could afford to miss work like this, but it still made him feel guilty seeing the concern in the faces of everyone. It was obvious something was wrong. He was letting his voicemail box on his phone grow with more and more concerned messages, and someone was bound to eventually confront him. 

After he had come home from work on Wednesday, he had grabbed a bottle of whiskey, then went to his couch and laid on his stomach, wincing as his wings shifted. It was only halfway through the week that he had finally decided to check his voicemails. He put them on speaker phone and took long swigs from the whiskey, straight from the bottle. 

The first voicemail was from Saturday. “Hey Mondo, it’s me, Chihiro. You never called last night and I wanted to try and check up on you. Gimme a call back, okay? If I don’t hear anything by Wednesday I’m sending Sakura and Aoi to check up on you. Take care.” Oop. Looks like he was getting visitors tonight then. He could only groan and save that voicemail. For a moment Mondo debated just letting them see the state he was in, but then decided against it. He wasn’t quite ready to give up yet, even if he wasn’t pure anymore, he could try to hide that for the sake of his job and the people who depended on him. He had the bike shop and the people who worked there after all; they needed him. 

The next voicemail was from just this morning. “Mondo, it’s uh, it’s Taka. I wanted to try and...apologize about what happened on Friday. I’m sorry for pushing you, that was unfair of me. I would understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore. Just...know that I didn’t mean any of the things I said about what happened being your fault, and I meant what I said when I told you how I felt about you. Even if we’ve both changed so much, I still love you. I wanted to think I hated you, and that’s why I hurt you at first, but it’s not true. I’m really...sorry about everything.” Taka’s voice sounded so shaky and quiet, a complete one-eighty from his normally confidant and loud tone. It only made Mondo give a louder groan and feel more guilt about what he had done. 

After pawing at his coffee table for some painkillers (he most certainly hadn’t gotten them by legal means, but hell, he had already dug his grave enough, what was one more sin?). Once he took them (with the whiskey of course, because why the fuck not) Mondo was able to handle the pain enough to get up and attempt to clean up the booze bottles and get his shit together. First things first, he had to hide his wings. If Aoi and Sakura saw what was happening to them, well...he would probably be kissing his status as a not-fallen angel goodbye. He knew what the rotting meant. But as long as the other angels didn’t find out, he’d be fine, right? Sure, it was shitty of him to lie to everyone, but...what else could he do? He couldn’t just break all of the bonds he had made over the years, he couldn’t disappoint his brother or Chihiro. And what would happen to the bike shop?

As he heard a knock on his door he was tying his hair back, having let it deflate from its usual pompadour. He had a baggie sweatshirt on and had loosely bandaged his back, as he had been doing for the past few days, so that his wings wouldn’t get accidentally brushed and give away that he was in immense pain. His apartment was still messy, but the bottles of booze were hidden away or thrown in the garbage. Sure enough, when he answered the door he was greeted by a sunny Aoi and her ever-faithful partner Sakura. “Sorry for not answering Chihiro, the date didn’t go well and the last couple days have been rough.” He mumbled. 

“Date?” Sakura scowled at him. “Why weren’t we told about this? Who are you dating? If they hurt you…” She growled. 

Aoi pat Sakura’s arm, calming her. “Don’t worry, it’s a good thing it didn’t go well, right? Chihiro told me it was with a demon he was friends with before. But…” Aoi frowned. “Chihiro said it wasn’t supposed to be a date.”

Oops. He had promised he wouldn’t let it become that, hadn’t he? He had let himself fall into the trap of thinking of that night as a date. “I don’t see why I can’t date. I didn’t even do anything. But what’s it matter now, huh? The date flopped anyway.” Mondo folded his arms and looked down in disappointment and shame.

He looked up when he felt a large hand on his shoulder. “Just say the word and I’ll show this demon what happens when they break the hearts of my friends.” Geez could Sakura be overprotective sometimes. It wasn’t unappreciated, but Mondo hadn’t been the one who had gotten hurt in this. 

“Actually, uh...I’m the one that broke his heart.” Mondo mumbled. 

Aoi went wide eyed. “Really? What did you do?”

Oh god. He really didn’t want to talk about this. “He...he wanted to eventually do...stuff we’re not allowed to do.”

Aoi, innocent Aoi, tilted her head. “What stuff?” 

Mondo blushed and mumbled incoherently. After an awkward silence where Aoi just stared at him blankly Sakura finally broke in. “Sex, Hina. He wanted to eventually have sex.” 

Aoi blinked. “Ohhh.”

Mondo groaned and continued. “He tried to tempt me or whatever, I freaked out and then he started apologizing and begging. He started crying, and I thought it was just another mind game, y’know? The guy’s a fuckin’ demon. So I yelled at him and he started freaking out and asking me not to leave him again. I kinda...left him crying in a parking lot. But he kept trying to manipulate me ‘n shit! I panicked and I didn’t know what else to do!” He had purposefully left out the part where the demon had made him feel jealousy.

He finally made eye contact with the two angels and he could practically feel the room drop a few degrees with how coldly Aoi was glaring at him. And Sakura didn’t look too happy either. In fact when he met her eyes she pushed him onto the floor, then stepped on his chest. It took every ounce of willpower Mondo had not to scream in pain from his wings. He could only grit his teeth and squeeze his eyes shut to keep the tears from shedding. “What the...hell…” He could only groan. 

“You left a guy crying in a parking lot? Even if he was playing mind games, that’s a dick move!” Aoi yelled at him. 

Mondo tried to get Sakura’s foot off his chest. “I panicked, okay? I don’t handle that wishy-washy shit well.” 

Aoi’s voice only got louder. “That doesn’t mean you just leave him crying in the cold like that! That’s so mean! Even if he is a demon!” 

Sakura finally took her foot off of him and Mondo got up. “Fine, okay. I was an asshole, happy?”

Aoi shook her head. “You need to tell him you’re sorry.”

Mondo sighed. “He left me a voicemail apologizing, but...I dunno if he’ll really wanna--”

“No! Call him back right now!”

“But I--” 

Aoi gave him another spine-chilling glare. “Did I stutter?”

Mondo growled and got out his cell phone, finally giving in and calling the demon.

“Boss, Miu’s making sex noises while working on a bike again!” Kazuichi whined at Mondo in the bike shop. Mondo was currently working on a bike himself and couldn’t help but give an exasperated sigh at being interrupted. But when he took his earbuds out, sure enough he could hear his other assistant making very suspicious moaning sounds. 

“Goddammit…” He got up and went to her. “What did I say about doin’ that in the shop?”

Miu looked up at him and grinned. “That it’s super fun, pisses Kaz off and is great practice!” 

Mondo held the bridge of his nose. “No, Miu. That is not what I fuckin’ said. I said to stop doin’ it because it makes everyone uncomfortable.” 

She pouted and glared at Kazuichi. “That fuckin’ virgin’s just jealous that he’s not the one on top ‘o me instead of the bike.”

“As if! You’re a total creep and a perv, I’d never wanna touch someone like you! I only want Miss Sonia!” Kazuichi’s obsession with the foreign exchange student at his and Miu’s high school made Mondo both incredibly uncomfortable and extremely concerned. It was almost more concerning than Miu’s obsession with sex. Almost. But it was his job to help these chucklefucks, even if they were creepy. 

“Kaz, if I hear another word about your stalker obsession I’m sendin’ you home for the night, and Miu, the same goes for you about the sex noises.” He knew it was a good threat, since both of them seemed to enjoy working here and didn’t have ideal home lives. 

Both teenagers finally grumbled and went back to their respective tasks, allowing Mondo to finally have some peace so that he could focus on his work.

Peace that was incredibly short-lived as Taka came into the shop. They had apologized to each other and worked things out, but it still made him feel a fluttery kind of nervousness in his stomach when he saw Taka in person again. He must have been able to take time off to come here, since he was in more casual clothing for once (well, as casual as Taka could be anyway, since it was a button-up shirt with a sweater overtop of it and some slacks). As soon as he met eyes with Mondo the demon smiled at him and Mondo couldn’t help but blush and look away. Goddamn that fucker a second time for being all professional-looking and charming.

“So this is the famed bike shop? It’s a bit more cluttered than I would like, but it seems nice. Cozy.” Taka looked around the shop until his eyes landed on the two teenagers working for Mondo. “You have other qualified mechanics right? Not just these two?” 

Mondo sighed and got up from working on a bike. “Yeah, I have two other mechanics but they’re both off for today so I’m stuck with these two chucklefucks.” He pointed at Kazuichi. “Chucklefuck one.” He pointed at Miu. “Chucklefuck two.”

Miu glared at Mondo. “Why am I chucklefuck two? How come Kaz the creeper gets to be number one huh?” 

Kazuichi snorted. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black dontcha think?”

Mondo held the bridge of his nose. “I can’t fuckin’ believe you guys are fighting about this right now.” He scowled at them. “You both annoy me equally got it?” 

Taka chuckled. “So this is your idea of mentoring younger people, hm?” He smirked at Mondo.

Mondo would have answered with a retort had Kazuichi not jumped on it first. “Hey, Boss is cool and we learn a lotta stuff here, so back off!” He scowled up at the demon.

“Yeah fuck off you fuckin’ virgin nerd!” Miu chimed in with absolutely no grace or etiquette. If only she knew, Mondo mused. If only she knew that Mondo was more of a virgin that Taka was. Nonetheless, the fact that his pupils were jumping to his defense made his heart squeeze. 

But then again, he still felt guilty for what he had done to Taka and thus felt the need to defend him. “Hey, obviously he was just jokin’ around. If anything it’s your fault for bein’ a coupla clowns while he’s here.” He scowled at them. “You guys need to calm the fuck down, Miu, get back to work while Kaz talks to Taka.” 

“Oooo the creeper’s in troublllleee!” Miu taunted. Kazuichi shot Mondo a nervous look and Mondo couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

“No he’s not, now shush!” He looked at Taka. “You can talk to him in my office. Kaz can show you where it’s at, right?” He looked at Kazuichi, who only anxiously nodded and began walking towards the office.

Kazuichi’s talk with Taka had taken long enough that Miu had left for the night (despite her attempts to try and stick around so she could find out what was going on), and when the two finally came back from Mondo’s office Kazuichi had a wide-eyed look on his face. Mondo, who was waiting for them to come out and was already in his leather jacket to leave for the night, felt bad for the kid. “You good?” 

Kazuichi, who seemed to be pulled out of a train of thought, blinked. “Uh...yeah. It makes a lot of sense, actually. My mom left when I was little, so...yeah. But...are you really a demon like him?” He frowned at Mondo and gestured to Taka.

“No, I’m actually an angel. Kinda why I got Taka to have a talk with you, since he probably has a better idea of how to help you than I do. He’s, uh...an old friend.” He wasn’t sure if the term boyfriend was even possible after what had happened. 

Kazuichi looked between the two of them. “Wow...Didn’t know you swung that way Boss.” 

Taka started laughing as Mondo made a choking noise of protest at his assistant. “We’re not--it’s not--I can’t even--!” He growled and shook his head. “Why are you even assuming I’m in a relationship or doin’ that kinda shit! As an angel I can’t even do that kinda stuff. Even if we were dating.” 

“Oh my god, don’t tell Miu that or she’ll crucify you.” Kazuichi snorted. 

Mondo facepalmed lightly. “Yeah, I know. Half the shit she goes off about I don’t even know what it means.” 

Taka folded his arms. “But you’ve been around humans for a long time, right?” 

Mondo sighed. “Not as long as some angels. I was on and off field work and I was only consistently doing it since the fifties. And people didn’t talk about that shit back then.” 

“That explains the shitty pompadour…” Kazuichi mumbled. 

Mondo growled at him. “You wanna say that again you lil shit?” 

Kazuichi put up his hands in surrender. “No boss.” 

Mondo sighed and blushed. “But no, I haven’t really been exposed to much of that stuff till Miu started working for me. Last week I had to google what sixty-nineing meant.” 

Both Taka and Kazuichi started snickering at him. “Wow...that makes me feel better then...I mean...if you’re like...old as time or whatever...and you haven’t...” Kazuichi managed to get out between giggles and Mondo wanted to smack him. 

In fact, Mondo pretended like he was going to and stopped when Kazuichi yelped and darted away towards the exit of the shop. Unfortunately the way he’d moved managed to rub his wings the wrong way and he barely held back the wince of pain. Kazuichi seemed none the wiser (although he was caught up in escaping Mondo’s fake wrath) but one glance at Taka told him that the demon knew something was wrong. Mondo sighed and shook his head. “Sorry Kaz, I wasn’t gonna hurt you, I was just playing around. Get home safe, alright? I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Kazuichi grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. Night Boss!” He grabbed his jacket (which was a disgusting shade of yellow, Mondo had thought his fashion sense was off but this kid was on another level) and left the shop. 

“That went quite well. I think with enough practice he’ll be able to control his abilities. He just needs to work on not being a pervert. Both of your assistants do.” Taka walked and stood next to Mondo. “But before I ask you to hold up your end of the deal, I want you to tell me why you looked like you were in pain just now.” 

Mondo looked over at him. “Wait, my end of the deal? You still...uh...wanna do that? Kiss?” 

Taka scowled. “You’re focusing on the wrong thing here, Mondo. Tell me what’s wrong or I’ll petrify you with a look and figure it out myself.” Mondo really hoped that he was kidding but at the same time the basilisk demon looked very serious and after their first reunion Mondo wouldn’t be surprised if he could actually petrify someone with those freaky snake eyes of his. 

But that didn’t mean he was going to back down so quickly. “I’m not allowed to have some goddamn privacy? I just pulled something in my shoulder, alright?”

“Then it should have healed by now. You’re not a human, that excuse won’t work. It’s something else.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Mondo, don’t make me--”

“What, you’re gonna petrify me and strip search me?” Maybe the demon was bluffing.

Taka seemed to open his mouth as if to say something, then shut it. When he finally spoke it was in a quiet and reserved tone. “You don’t look well. I’m worried about you, there’s something wrong, I can tell. But I don’t know what it is.” 

Mondo grit his teeth in frustration. There was no way he was going to tell Taka about what was really putting him in all this pain, then he’d definitely lose any chance of fixing all of this. He wasn’t ready to give up being an angel yet, as long as he could ignore his desires and problematic feelings he could keep this a secret. “I appreciate your worry, but I’m fine.”

Taka sighed in a nonverbal surrender and closed his eyes. “Fine, but I won’t be forgetting this. Even if I am a demon, I wasn’t lying when I said I cared about you. But I won’t push you, for now anyways. If there are any signs that you’re getting worse, I’ll make good on that threat to petrify you, though.” He opened his eyes and they were more reptilian than before. 

He was lying again, he realized. He had lied when he had hid his condition from Sakura and Aoi as well. Fuck, was he really doomed to become one of the fallen? Was spending more time with Taka a bad idea? He didn’t want to walk away from this again, but…

Mondo was pulled from his thoughts when Taka took his hand. “Whatever this is, please don’t be afraid to confide in me.” He smiled a bit and kissed Mondo’s hand.

The only thought running through the angel’s head in reaction to the gentle affection was ‘holy shit.’ “I...uh...um...so I wanted to ask...uh...like...what are we? Relationship wise? I mean, if you wanna date, you know that I can’t...y’know…” He blushed. 

Taka snorted. “Yes, Mondo, I know. And I promise that I won’t try to tempt you like before.” He sighed. “I’m sorry for that night, trying to push you into jealousy like that.” It wasn’t much of a push, Mondo had already been slowly downsliding from the unacknowledged envy he felt. Taka had simply lit a fire in him that had forced those feelings to the forefront of his mind. 

“Yeah, well I left you cryin’ in the parking lot, so we’re even.” 

“Right. Yes. Don’t remind me of that part.” Taka sighed, then after a moment he smirked. “But you still owe me a kiss.” Since they were alone the demon must have felt comfortable enough to let some of his more reptilian characteristics show, because his forked tongue flicked out (and Mondo was beginning to suspect that he liked to do that when he was fucking with him, but maybe it was just an instinctive thing). 

Mondo blushed bright red and gulped. “Yeah...uh…” He stepped closer to Taka, awkwardly taking his hands, hyperaware of those snake eyes watching him with amusement. He finally looked up into the demon’s eyes and couldn’t help but find them weirdly beautiful, despite their deviation from the norm. He realized there were little flecks of orange in them. Neat. “Are you just gonna watch me make an idiot of myself or are you gonna help me out?” Mondo scowled as he leaned towards the smaller man.

Taka chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mondo’s neck, pulling him down. “It’s fun to watch you struggle a bit, but I suppose I’ll humor you.” He breathed just before his lips gently met Mondo’s.

Unsurprisingly, the demon’s lips were pretty soft, which was nice. The closeness and the feeling of their lips joining was pleasant enough, and then Mondo had the thought of whether or not Taka’s snake-like tongue would feel weird or if his fangs would accidentally cut him. He didn’t have long to wonder, since Taka nipped at Mondo’s lip, cutting his lip just a tiny bit. Enough to make Mondo grunt in surprise and open his mouth a little in reaction, and of course the little bastard would use that to “get some tongue action” as he had said when the deal was first made. Mondo didn’t want to admit that the slight pain from Taka’s fangs only made things more exciting and stimulating for him, making his knees weak and his heart race. He was ashamed of the fact that Taka’s tongue lightly exploring his mouth made him pant and pull the demon closer by grabbing his shirt. He tried his best to work his tongue in, but there was no way in hell he’d ever be as skillful as Taka was. 

When Taka finally pulled away, all Mondo could think about was how pissed he was that the demon had ended it and he wanted to demand why. His face was flushed and he was still panting, and goddammit if he had been asked what his own name was he would have had to have taken a minute to answer. “Wh...why’d you stop?” 

Taka laughed and leaned forward, stomping on Mondo’s hopes of getting another mind-blowing kiss when he went to whisper in his ear. “The deal was just one kiss, right? That’s all you want, after all. As excited as you’re getting, at this rate you might have a harder time resisting temptation.” His tongue darted out and holy fuck it brushed Mondo’s ear and he felt like his legs were fucking melting. 

That fucker! That sneaky little conniving snake bastard! If he wasn’t horny and dazed he would have picked Taka up pro-wrestler style over his head and thrown his ass out the nearest window. “Th-that’s not fair. You’re not playing fair. You promised no temptation again, you--”

Taka pulled back and he was still grinning. “I’m not actively tempting you. We made a deal, you held up your end of the bargain, albeit a little clumsily. But that’s to be expected, right? It is your first kiss after all, isn’t it?” His grin toned down into a playful smirk and his tongue darted out again.

Mondo could only dumbly nod, realizing he had dug his own grave once again. He really needed to work on planning ahead. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to keep this shit up, especially if just a little tongue in a kiss was going to get him so hot and bothered. A part of him suggested that maybe it would be better to come clean about his wings, but the other part of him ignored that thought. “You’re a sneaky little bastard, y’know that?” He scowled at him. “But...you wanna come back to my place and hang out? Watch Netflix or some shit?” 

Taka’s smirk widened. “You mean Netflix and chill?” 

Mondo narrowed his eyes. “Yeah? Does that have a weird meaning?” 

Taka almost said something, but then shook his head. “Nevermind. It does mean something, but forget I said it. I made a promise to you and I’m going to keep it.”

Well, at least he was trying. Maybe it was just in a demon’s nature to tempt people like that. “Cool, we can ride over on my bike.”

“I’m not riding that death trap.”

“Aw come on!” Mondo practically whined. “Please?” He swallowed hard, getting a terrible idea that he really shouldn’t -- “I’ll kiss you again if you do.” He blurted out like a fucking moron. Nice work, Mondo. Good job, you’re wings are going to fucking fall off at this rate, and then what will you do? Mondo so badly wanted to silence those questions running through his mind, but it was getting harder and harder to do it. 

Taka glared at him. “You’re making this temptation thing too easy, I’m trying to keep my promise! Now who’s tempting who? This is completely unacceptable behavior of an angel!” He pouted. 

“Well you’re the one that’s encouraging that! You’re the demon! And is it so wrong to want you to ride my bike with me?” 

Taka rolled his eyes. “Fine. But I will be holding you to that kiss. Do you have a helmet at least?” 

Oop. He had gotten one a while ago, but… “Gimme a minute, I think it’s around the shop somewhere…” He began running around, scrambling to find it while at the same time avoiding accidentally brushing his wings and causing pain.


	4. I've run out of title ideas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW at the end of the chapter! This is the first smut I've written in a while, so apologies if it's not great. Also I hope it didn't seem too forced or hurried. I know there aren't a lot of people reading this but I really enjoy the idea and I hope that I'm at least writing the characters well.

Kiyotaka could remember all of the events leading to his fall and afterwards in almost perfect clarity. Then again, he was a supernatural being with powers and influence beyond that of any mortal. A good and long memory only came with the territory. 

He remembered hearing about the first sin happening, about the rise of demons and how they had begun tempting humans. Like any angel, he had at first been horrified at the thought of defiling himself with evil or sin. No, it wasn’t any natural desire to do evil that led him astray. If anything, his path to hell (which was Earth, the human concept of hell was actually pretty funny to Taka) had been paved with good intentions. 

Because of his strength of will and discipline, he had been one of the first angels sent to work among humans. And he had enjoyed his work, he loved humans, admired their determination and passion. A small part of him envied the bonds they shared with each other, and at first Taka couldn’t put his finger on why. He had friends...well, he had one friend. But they were close! Had they been created closer to each other in proximity and age, they would have even considered each other brothers (the way Mondo and Daiya viewed each other). But fate had not worked that way, so instead they were close friends. He had loved Mondo dearly, and had begged the other archangels to allow Mondo to work with the humans with him. 

“He’ll be too easily tempted. He’s loyal and kind, but...he doesn’t have the will to stand strong in the face of temptation. It would be too risky.” Chihiro had told him. Taka had thought it was bullshit. Mondo was strong! He was one of the strongest angels he knew! How could Chihiro lack faith in their friend?

It wasn’t fair, how could they underestimate him? Chihiro and all the others were wrong, damn the consequences for thinking that. A little temptation could be good, it was healthy. It allowed humans to grow. Even if their sin meant death and suffering, Taka had been shocked at how humans were able to grow and overcome adversity. And death made everything so much more meaningful to them, made every second precious. 

To think that sin and death and suffering were simply another part of life was what damned Taka, he supposed. But as an archangel he had always been led to think that he was always right, that his morals were always the ones that should be followed. He had been blinded by pride, and so he had been cast from heaven like so many other demons. Not to mention that envy, which in hindsight was due to the romantic nature that some human relationships had (that he had begun to think about having with Mondo). 

He had lied and cheated in order to attempt to get approval for Mondo to do fieldwork with him, he deserved this opportunity just like the others goddammit! And because Taka had been so convinced of his own righteousness, he had done all of these things with pride and shamelessness.

The fall itself wasn’t what hurt the most for Taka. No, he had seen that coming for a while. What had crushed his heart more than anything was the fact that he had been confronted and cast away right in front of Mondo’s eyes. The shock and horror in those lavender eyes had brought the reality of what Taka had done to light. 

Mukuro had been the one to apprehend him, along with two guards. And it was a shame, she had always been one of his favorites among the sentinels. “Kiyotaka, I’ve come with a warrant for your banishment.” Right to the point, as always. If there was one truth about Mukuro, it was that she didn’t mess around. 

Mondo, who he had been talking to, had scowled at her. “Whattaya mean? Taka hasn’t done anything, he’s a fuckin’ archangel for cryin’ out loud! He would never--” His voice rose with every word, and yet Mukuro interrupted him with a calm and unshaken tone.

“On the contrary, he’s guilty of sixteen forged signatures, lying to multiple fellow archangels, and he managed to bribe many others to achieve his own selfish ends. He’s corrupt, he can’t remain here.” Selfish ends?!? He hadn’t been selfish! He had done it all for his friend, that shouldn’t...he didn’t do anything wrong! That’s what he had thought, anyway. In hindsight, he had been a prideful fool. 

“That’s bullshit, where’s your proof?” Mondo growled, fists clenching.

“She doesn’t need any, I did do all of those things. And I’m not ashamed of it. I did what was right, even if you’re all too blind to see it.” Taka sighed and stepped forward. They most certainly had proof, and it would be a waste of time to show it all to Mondo. Best to get it all out in the open now. 

Mondo had looked at him, eyes wide in shock and horror. “You..,what? But, but that’s, how…”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Mukuro interrupted Mondo. 

Taka shook his head. He couldn’t accept this, it wasn’t fair! He had done what he needed to for his friend. “No, I don’t, I didn’t do anything wrong!” He grit his teeth, eyes filling up with frightened tears. “You can’t do this to me, I’m of a higher rank than you! Have you no respect?”

“You’re not of a higher rank anymore. You’ve been stripped of all of that.” Mukuro sighed and waved over the two other sentinels, who grabbed a struggling Taka. 

“Wait a minute, you can’t just…” Mondo stepped forward, his voice louder than before. He had his fists clenched, his teeth bared, and his eyes were now full of rage to hide what was probably fear and panic. “This ain’t fair! You can’t take him away like this, he’s my best friend!”

Mukuro sighed and handed him the warrant, taking her weapon from where it was sheathed on her back. A war hammer. “What part of warrant do you not understand? Everything has already been investigated, already discussed, already concluded. Kiyotaka lied and cheated, and since when do the ends ever justify the means?” She glared at Taka. “I hate to do this, but he has no place here anymore. He’ll be cast down to earth, stuck in a physical form, and forced to stay that way until the end of time.” She went behind Taka, and his blood ran cold at the realization of what she was going to do. 

“But Taka would never, he couldn’t, I…” Mondo, looking horrified and betrayed, had looked at Taka. “How could you do this?” 

Taka looked down, unable to look into those eyes any longer. “I thought I was doing the right thing. Please...please don’t hate me.” The betrayal and horror in Mondo’s eyes finally made him begin to realize that he had hurt Mondo instead of helping him. 

Mondo growled. “I would fucking never, I made a promise!”

Mukuro sighed. “I hate to interrupt this, but I need to keep things moving.” She swung her hammer and Taka’s left wing broke, making him wail in pain. 

“YOU CAN’T JUST GIVE US A FUCKING MINUTE?” Mondo roared, a few tears finally running down his cheeks. 

Mukuro scowled. “Fine. But only one.” 

Taka wanted to say so many things, he wanted to tell Mondo he loved him, that this wasn’t his fault. But having one’s wing broken isn’t necessarily a walk in the park. Taka was just trying to stay lucid due to the pain at this point. 

There was a breathe where Mondo seemed to panic, trying to find the right words. “I’ll find you, okay? I’ll find you and we can still be together, even if--just don’t become a demon okay? Then we can’t--I don’t even fuckin’ know, man.” His hands fisted in his hair, and Taka’s heart broke a little more at seeing him so distressed. He...he had been wrong, hadn’t he? He had messed up and proven nothing, and now he was going to damn himself for all of eternity. “I love you, okay? Don’t forget that, I’ll always feel that way. It’s a promise, right? I never break my promises.” 

Taka swallowed hard, finally finding some words. “I...I love you too. I’m sorry.” He looked at Mukuro. Anything more than this...it would be too much. He already felt so broken, he couldn’t take any more. “Just finish it.” 

“NO WAIT YOU CAN’T--” Mondo had screamed, and Mukuro had ignored him and swung her hammer again, taking out Taka’s other wing and then kicking him so that his fall (his literal fall) could begin. 

“It looks like a Harley Davidson store and a liquor store projectile vomited all over your apartment.” Taka announced as he entered Mondo’s apartment. He knew Mondo wasn’t a naturally tidy person, but...this was nearly anxiety-inducing to a clean freak like Taka. He had to restrain himself from picking up the empty liquor bottles and other trash in the living room in an attempt to tidy up the place. After using his tongue (because like a snake, Taka couldn’t actually smell anything unless he used his forked tongue) he caught the stale smell of cigarettes and alcohol and he couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose a bit. The smell was nearly suffocating.

Mondo snorted. “Yeah? You surprised?” He pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto the floor (Taka couldn’t help but shudder in horror). 

Taka shook his head. “I must admit I’m not at all surprised. But I am concerned.” He picked up an empty glass bottle on the coffee table and looked at it. “You’re drinking a lot of hard alcohol lately, it seems.” He couldn’t help but look around more closely now, feeling worried. And he found his worry was well-founded when his eyes landed on a prescription bottle. “What’s that?” 

The angel looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights, his mouth opening and closing as he seemed to be thinking up an explanation. “I...uh…”

Taka narrowed his eyes. “It’s for the pain, isn’t it? Whatever it is that’s hurting you.” 

Mondo looked down, looking guilty. “Yeah. Yeah it is.” 

“And you aren’t going to tell me what this is?” 

“I’d rather not.”

Taka couldn’t help but clench his fists. “You’re just going to let me worry like this? I don’t want to see you in pain, at all, ever. These are addictive drugs, Mondo!” Taka found his eyes blurring with tears. Oh god, not again. If Mondo got angry and assumed he was manipulating him again, Taka’s heart would be broken beyond repair. “Please, just tell me what’s wrong, I just want to help.” He sat next to Mondo and took his hand. 

Mondo, the stubborn bastard that he was, groaned and looked away. “You know I hate it when you cry.” He sighed, seeming to rethink his words. “I don’t like seeing you upset like that.”

“Then fucking listen to me goddammit!” Taka yelled, losing his propriety in his frustration. His self-control slipped a little, his voice gaining a dark and menacing edge to it. The lights in the living room even flickered a bit. He needed to calm down, if he let himself get angry like that...it would definitely scare off the angel.

He couldn’t help but feel partially satisfied at how Mondo jumped a bit at Taka’s words, his lavender eyes wide in shock. “Woah...I’m sorry okay? I just...admitting what’s happening to someone else would be...it would mean I was really giving up.” 

Taka sighed and kissed his hand, gently tugging him over to sit on the small couch in the living room (he had to resist the need to spray it with disinfectant). “Whatever is going on, you can tell me. I just don’t want to see you suffering like this.” He squeezed his hand. “Please? Can’t you let your pride go for once? For me?” 

Mondo rolled his eyes. “Isn’t that ironic, coming from you?” 

“That doesn’t matter right now, my status as a demon isn’t relevant.” Taka kissed his nose. “Stop dodging the question and tell me the truth.” He scowled at him, reptilian eyes narrowing. 

Mondo bared his teeth and Taka was ready to slap the angel. "What happened to letting it go? You just said earlier that you would respect my boundaries." 

Why was he being so damn stubborn? "That ended when I saw you abusing drugs and alcohol to hide whatever this is. I can try to be respectful of you, yes, but if it's something that could be detrimental like a drug or alcohol problem it is my duty as both your friend and...and boyfriend to intervene." 

Mondo’s eyes held his for a moment, then slowly closed as he heaved out a sigh. “Fine, just...don’t freak out okay?” He pulled away from Taka, pulling off the shirt he was wearing. At first, Taka felt confusion at what the angel was doing, but when his eyes fell upon the bandages as Mondo turned around everything fell into place. 

He couldn’t hold back the sob that instinctively escaped his chest as his fingers gently brushed over the bled-through bandages on Mondo’s back. “I did this. This is my fault, I tempted you and now you’re corrupted.” He shut his eyes tight and put a hand over his mouth to muffle himself. 

Mondo turned and took Taka’s hands, shaking his head. “No no no, it wasn’t your fault, it was a long time coming, okay? I’ve felt jealous of higher-ranking angels and humans for so long, I just kept ignoring those feelings. You just sparked something that was already there.” He kissed Taka’s forehead. “Please don’t cry, I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to resist you the second time.”

“Why are you apologizing when I’m the one that tempted you? I was the one who acted selfishly, at first I wanted to drag you down with me. But I didn’t want you to suffer like this! Even if I told myself I did, I never meant it!” Taka needed to stop crying, he was a primordial demon who had the power to tempt humans into committing one of the worst sins of all. But despite that, he couldn’t withhold the sobs bubbling from his chest. 

He felt Mondo’s arms wrap around him, resting his chin on Taka’s head. “I’ll be fine, okay? It’s been a long time coming, it was only a matter of time. If anything, it’s a good thing I found you before it happened.” He rocked him gently, rubbing the demon’s back. “I’m scared of what will happen, and I’m scared that I’ll fuck up everything I have and the people I’ve been friends with for all this time, but I have you again. And that makes it all a little less scary.” 

Taka was caught off guard. This chaste and loving affection, after he had purposefully tried to ruin Mondo’s life...even if the man acted tough and seemed to think he wasn’t much of an angel, this moment proved that beneath all of that Mondo had a caring heart. Taka closed his eyes and nuzzled Mondo’s neck, sniffling. “I love you, you’re so much stronger than you think, you know that?” 

“Nuh-unh.” 

Taka found himself wetly laughing at Mondo’s childish reply. “Yes huh, you stubborn goof.” He nipped at Mondo’s neck playfully and heard the larger man grunt in response. Interesting. He chuckled. “Do you like a little pain, Mondo?” He whispered, letting his breath ghost over Mondo’s neck.

“Are you seriously flirting with me after I showed you my nasty-ass wings?” 

Taka hummed. “I can easily help you take care of that problem. I know someone who works as a nurse. She’s a demon as well, if that bothers you. She can remove your wings and you wouldn’t be in pain anymore.” Despite her mental instability, Mikan was a capable nurse (and more than that, considering she had been working in the medical field since at least the Medieval period). Taka…sort of trusted her enough for something like this.

Mondo looked down, taking Taka’s hand and tracing the lines on it with his index finger. “But that means losing my wings. Even if they are rotting away, admitting that I’m gonna lose them is hard.” 

Taka kissed his jaw, rubbing his thumb over Mondo’s bare shoulder. “I know it’s frightening, but I’ll be there for you. And even if you are a fallen angel now, when the others find out I’m sure Daiya and Chihiro will still talk to you. Daiya is your brother, after all. And I can introduce you to some of my friends, even if they’re mostly demons they can be good people.”

The angel gave him a skeptical look. “But they’re demons.”

“Are you saying demons can’t be good people?” Taka’s eyes narrowed. Mondo had better tread carefully in his reply…

“Well, I mean, you’re supposed to hurt people. That’s your job, ain’t it?” 

Taka sighed. “It’s more complicated than that. We preserve humanity’s free will by making sure they’re aware of their options.”

Mondo snorted. “Sounds like bullshit to me.” 

Taka frowned and pinched his side, earning a yelp from the larger man. “It isn’t bullshit! Do you think humanity could be what it is today if suffering and death did not exist? All of the symphonies made by suffering composers, the art made by starving artists. The people that worked to change the world in order to right the wrongs done to them. All of that is because of temptation, sin, and death. And frankly I take pride in my work.” 

He wanted to smack Mondo as he saw a smirk quirk the man’s lips. “Heh, I bet you do--” Taka swatted his arm and he laughed, making Taka’s annoyance become outweighed by the joy in hearing his laugh. Taka had almost forgotten how unrestrained and loud it was. “It’s still total bullshit though.” Mondo smirked at Taka.

Instead of getting annoyed with the angel again, Taka simply smirked and stroked his cheek. “You know, in the garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit came from the tree of knowledge, not the tree of sin, right?” He decided to really get sneaky and began kissing Mondo’s neck, occasionally nipping and sucking on the abused skin.

“Haah, y-yeah, I know. H-haven’t you ever heard of the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’? Ah-!” Mondo’s arms snaked up to wrap around Taka’s neck, and Taka smirked into the angel’s neck in satisfaction at the noises he earned as he crawled into Mondo’s lap.

Taka grinned against Mondo’s skin and licked a long stripe up his neck, feeling the larger man shudder beneath him. He hummed and finally brought his head up so that he and Mondo’s noses were nearly touching. “I’ve heard of the saying. And I think that it’s just something fools say to lull themselves into a sense of security.” 

Mondo grunted. “Why are you expectin’ me to be able to logically argue morality and the nature of human existence with you while you’re givin’ me hickies?” He was flushed and panting, those lovely lavender eyes of his lidded and hazy with arousal. 

He chuckled and kissed the angel lightly. “Because I know that even if you weren’t distracted, this is an argument you cannot win. If I was wrong, then humanity would never have sinned and we wouldn’t be in all of this mess, hm?” He gently stroked Mondo’s bare chest, enjoying the smooth skin and firm muscle underneath. He was so easy to fluster and tempt, and the reward was more than appealing. 

Mondo bit his lip and seemed to actually think about what Taka was saying, brow furrowing in thought. “Just--y’know what--I’m not technically an actual angel anymore so I don’t gotta think about this shit!” He pouted up at Taka and the demon found the expression to be incredibly cute on the larger man. Mondo would probably get mad at him if he ever called him cute out loud, but it still held true. 

Taka grinned down at Mondo at his admission of defeat. “I suppose you’re right about that. But aside from all of that, my offer still stands. I know no other medical personnel who would understand the situation enough to properly carry out a procedure like that. And if you’re scared I can stay with you the whole time.”

“‘M not a little kid, I can handle that kinda shit like a man!” Mondo frowned up at him. 

Taka kissed his nose. “Of course you can. Shall I give you the contact info and let her know you’ll be asking for her help?” After a moment of thought he couldn't help but worry what would happen if the angel visited the demoness alone. "But I would like to be with you for the procedure. For my sanity's sake, at least." He smiled.

Mondo seemed to think for a minute before finally sighing and closing his eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

Taka kissed the corner of his mouth. “Thank you. I know it’s hard for you to accept all this change, and I’m glad you’re letting me help you.” He kissed him more deeply this time, tongue teasing at Mondo’s lips. Much to his amusement the larger man’s lips parted eagerly, and Taka felt a little surprised that Mondo was being so submissive. Perhaps it was a lack of experience, or maybe the larger man secretly enjoyed not having to be in control for once. Either way, Taka appreciated it. 

Until Mondo managed to gently push him away. "Since we're makin' out and shit right now, I'm assumin' you're prolly a lil pissed off that I tried to...y'know...keep things tame or whatever even though I didn't even have to."

Taka hummed and stroked his cheek. "Not necessarily. You have your boundaries, and I'll respect them. Even if I would more than love to do more than 'make out' with you. Sure, you were lying, which annoys me, but I'm a demon, in case you've forgotten. You had reason to lie, a reason you weren't ready to engage in sexual relations. And that's fine. Sexual attraction and physical desire must all be pretty new to you, since angels don't have that kind of need to begin with."

Mondo heaved out a breath, trilling his lips. "You don't know the half of it." 

"I do." Taka chuckled and kissed Mondo lightly. "I went through the same thing, once upon a time. Unfortunately for me I didn't have the object of my affections and fantasies to help me with that." 

"But you had that guy." Mondo scowled at him. 

Right. He had told him about his fling with Hiro. That had definitely been an oversight on his part, looking back. "He wasn't you. Not the same." He took Mondo's hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry I told you that just to make you jealous, it wasn't fair. But you should understand that I do have needs, so I've had my fair share of hookups." He kissed his hand. "None of them lived up to you. Ever." 

Mondo grit his teeth, seeming to think for a minute. He then met Taka's eyes above him and sighed. "Okay. I get it, I guess. Doesn't make it any easier." He shrugged. "I feel like I'm gonna disappoint you, cuz you've wanted this for so long, like you said, and I don't have any experience. Literally none. I just figured out masturbating this week." He looked up at Taka and growled at the demon's wide smirk and narrowed reptilian eyes. "Don't be a fuckin' perv about it!" 

"And why not? We're in a relationship, and helping you discover the joys of physical pleasure and sexuality is an exciting prospect. I promise to be an excellent teacher." Taka hummed and nipped at Mondo's bottom lip. "Just tell me what feels good, what you want to try and we can go from there. Or don't tell me, we can take our time and work up to that. I may be a creature of temptation and sin, but I have good self control." 

"Snooty lil hard-ass like you? I'm sure." 

Taka narrowed his eyes and flicked his tongue out at the other man, glaring at him. "Oh hush, I can let loose sometimes. I even throw parties. Speaking of which, there's going to be a Christmas party at my home for...our kind of folk. Demons and such. And you're going to be there." 

Mondo pouted. "Nope." 

"How else am I supposed to establish you as my romantic partner?" Taka protested with a boop to Mondo's nose. 

Mondo wrinkled his nose and scowled. "Ain't you ever heard of Facebook?" 

"Tch! My campaign manager handles that, I want nothing to do with that brain-rotting social media rubbish! Even if I did, you're still coming to this party. I have ways of kidnapping you and making you come." Taka smirked. "Or...I could entice you in other ways." He hummed and let his thigh gently rub against Mondo's crotch.

Mondo bit his lip and grunted. "You're a son of a bitch, y'know that?" 

Taka gave a fanged grin. Victory was his. "But you're coming to my party aren't you?" A little increase in the pressure down south ought to seal the deal...

"Fuck you." Mondo panted and let out a small whine. 

"Good boy." Taka kissed him. "Do you want me to continue? Or should we call it a night?" He didn't want to pressure or overwhelm the larger man. He didn't seem to handle pressure well, and he definitely didn't like being cornered like he had during their first "date." Taka had learned that the hard way. 

Mondo gave a quiet moan. "I...I dunno...kinda want you to stay...mmm…" He was already flushed and panting. God, to see a large and normally so strong and masculine man get turned into a hot and moaning mess was just too enticing for the demon. And the way those lidded and hazy lavender eyes seemed to hold a trust in Taka, as if asking him where this would go next made him feel wanted and in control. A huge turn-on, but...

Instead of reading that as straight approval, Taka decided to make sure Mondo actually wanted this. Despite his vehement desire against it, he took his thigh off of the larger man's groin. "Please don't feel like you have to, just do what makes you feel comfortable. Even if you lack experience, we're both equals and I want to make sure this is okay with you." 

Mondo growled. "I didn't fuckin' say you should stop, I was just tryna think about what the fuck I was gonna do if you spend the night. This shoebox compared to your big-ass bougie home is a fuckin' mess, in case ya didn't notice and I didn't think we'd be hanging out here so I didn't clean or prepare anything. I don't even have breakfast food and something tells me you're a morning person. Get back to grindin' on my dick you lil shit." He bucked his hips demandingly. 

"I didn't say we had to go all the way tonight!" Taka frowned and sat back on the couch, narrowly avoiding a grabby Mondo.

Who just followed him and crawled into his lap anyway. He really was a stubborn man, some things never changed. "You said it yourself, right? I don't gotta hold back anymore. There's no point in being all goody-goody if there's no going back. We don't have to go all the way, sure, but I wanna do somethin'. And I wanna snuggle and sleep together and all that wishy-washy shit." For the first time ever, he initiated a kiss, holding Taka's cheeks and clumsily shoving his tongue in Taka's mouth. 

What else could the demon do but moan into his mouth and wrap his arms around the other man? "I'm glad you're back to your bold self, you've been acting so meekly, I was worried." He smiled and rubbed Mondo's lower back, trying to avoid the afflicted wings. 

Mondo nodded. "Yeah, I guess it was just me bein' scared of all this change. But you made it not sound so bad, so...I'm okay with it now I guess. Not that I'm really sure of what I'm doing or what I want." He swallowed hard and dropped his hands from Taka's face. "Is it okay if I end up saying stop at any point? I don't really know…"

"Of course it's okay." Taka kissed him and smiled. "I want you to be comfortable, I want to make you feel good." 

"Yeah, that's good. So like...I watched some porn yesterday and...which one of us is gonna be the um...uh…" 

Taka smirked. "The what?" 

Mondo glared at him. "You know what I mean!" 

Taka hummed and rubbed Mondo's thighs. "Oh, no, I'm afraid I don't. You'll have to elaborate for me, angel."

At the petname Mondo seemed to get a little flustered and Taka couldn't help but note that. "I-I mean, like... who's gonna... put y'know what in... y'know where." As if he weren't obviously explaining the mechanics of sex, he put his left index finger through the hole made by his right index finger and thumb. 

Taka so badly wanted to burst into giggles at Mondo's shy avoidance of sexual vocabulary, but he managed to hold back for the angel's sake. "You mean who's going to top and who's going to bottom? That's up to you." 

"Don't people usually have a preference?" Mondo bit his lip, once again giving Taka the where-do-we-go-next look. 

"I don't really have one, I've enjoyed both roles in a variety of positions." He hummed and rested his forehead on Mondo's shoulder. "However, it all is dependent on whether you're comfortable with the idea of penetration. I can take a dominant role in both ways, but whether or not you feel comfortable with that is the real question." Both the idea of riding Mondo and fucking him were equally appealing, but only if the other man was enjoying it. 

Mondo seemed to think for a moment, eyes drifting over to some random spot behind Taka. "I mean...doesn't it hurt?" 

Taka shook his head. "If you're prepared enough and relaxed, no." He nipped his shoulder. "We can always do this another night, we can go slow. Don't feel pressured." 

"'M not pressured! I want this, I just...I'm a lil unsure of the mechanics of it is all!" He blushed hard. "Like, how can takin' it up the ass feel good? It sounds weird, and if it wouldn't feel good for you I don't wanna do it!" 

Taka laughed and kissed his chest. "It feels really good, once you get the right angle and spot. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience." He smirked a bit and nipped at Mondo's nipple to tease him. 

That seemed to have a dramatic effect on the angel, since his eyes rolled back a bit and he let out a damn near pornographic moan. "Th-that's fuckin' weird, I'm not a girl, baby…" He bit his lip. 

Ah, there was that weird masculinity popping up again. Taka had always been immensely confused by Mondo's defensive masculinity, since angels' gender was a little more ambiguous to begin with. Nevertheless, Mondo had that need to be as manly as possible. "Mm, you don't have to be a girl to enjoy that, angel. Like I said, just do whatever feels good. If it doesn't feel good, I'll stop, but don't stop me for appearance's sake." Due to their height difference Taka had been at about eye-level with Mondo's impressive (and still bare) chest since Mondo willfully crawled into his lap, and thus Taka could no longer resist the urge to appreciate the larger man's muscles and chest. He began gently sucking on Mondo's nipple, gambling a bit on whether or not Mondo would want him to continue. 

Mondo bit his lip and moaned again, gripping Taka's shoulders. "F-fuck...baby...j-just touch me, I don't care what you, hmm, wanna do or how we do it, I just...w-want you to make love to me." What a sweet way to phrase it, Taka couldn't help but think. That secretly soft side was showing and Mondo's guard seemed to be quickly fading. 

But now came the question of how they would do this. Mondo's infected wings had to be taken into account, after all. Not to mention Taka wasn't sure if Mondo even had any lube or condoms. If they had been at Taka's house, it would be a different story…"Angel, if you want us to do anything, I think it might be wiser for us to move elsewhere. Specifically my house, since I have the necessary supplies." He peppered feathery kisses across Mondo's chest. 

"That...actually works better cuz this place is a total fuckin' mess...ohhhh…" He closed his eyes as Taka sucked on his other nipple. "Y-your car's back at the shop though. I don't...mm...think I'm gonna last that long." Mondo snaked a hand down to his own pants and unbuttoned them and began trying to push his hand down, obviously trying to pleasure himself. 

"Allow me." Taka smiled and looked up at him as he slipped his hand down Mondo's pants, rubbing him. "I didn't expect you to have a very high stamina, so that's fine. We can get you off here and then you can drive us back to the shop. Or...you could just drive me back to my house and then drive me back to the shop tomorrow so I can pick up my car. I'm sure parking it there won't be any trouble." He kissed the larger man's neck, letting his tongue occasionally run over the skin. 

During his talk, Mondo had been once again reduced to a moaning and panting mess, face flushed. "Aaahh, that feels, that sounds uh, that's good. Y-you can, hm, park your car at my shop. W-won't get unnh, fuck, there, just like that baby...won't get towed or somethin'." He whined as Taka found an especially sensitive spot on his throat. His hips were bucking into Taka's touch, and Taka could tell he was already close since his boxers felt wet with precome. 

"Mmhmm, that's good." Taka mumbled against his throat and worked his hand on Mondo's cock faster. "You're close, aren't you? Funny how someone who puts up such a front of strength manages to become a hot and bothered mess at just my touch." He chuckled and nipped at Mondo's neck. 

Mondo whined and ran his hands through Taka's short hair. "Mmm, not fair, you're good at this shit. M-more experience. 'N it feels so...ohh...different when someone else is, is ah, doin' it." 

"Good different?" 

"Mhm." Taka felt Mondo's nails claw into his back. "So good…" He moaned the words more than spoke them. "W-want more, though. Can't last right now, but...later I want more." 

Taka chuckled. "Greedy. I'd ask you what you want but we can save that for later." He hummed. "I think I've played with you long enough." And here he would get to test his theory. 

He bit into Mondo's neck, drawing blood. He felt the angel tense up, then heard his loud groan as he came into Taka's hand. "Fuck…" He mumbled. Two thoughts went through Taka's mind in that moment. One, he was thankful that even if his more animalistic traits were like that of a basilisk, he did not have any venom and therefore couldn't really hurt Mondo that much. And two, Mondo seemed to enjoy a bit of pain. 

"I should have just driven here. You're probably too tired to drive now." Taka smiled and kissed him. "And I can't drive a motorcycle." 

"Nuh unh." Mondo mumbled with a yawn as he rested his chin on top of Taka's head. “Not that tired.”

Taka rolled his eyes. "Yes huh, I heard that yawn." He held his hand and kissed it. "Maybe we should slow down and just head to bed for the night. I think it's safe to say our eyes were bigger than our stamina in this case, hm?" 

Mondo pouted. "What about you, though? You didn't get off…" He reached down and palmed at Taka's crotch and the demon couldn't help but grunt. "You're hard, don't you want me to do somethin' about that?" He smiled a bit. 

Taka stroked his cheek. "Not if you're too sleepy to do it. I can handle it myself, don't worry. Watching you reach climax was plenty enjoyable. Not only that, it was an excellent learning experience." He grinned. "You're a little masochist, I think." 

The angel blushed bright red and nuzzled Taka's neck, groaning in embarrassment. "Shut up, pervert. I am a lil tired, but if you want me to...y'know, help I can. At least let me watch you." He smirked a bit. 

Taka chuckled and rubbed Mondo's thigh. "Oh really? A masochist and a voyeur? Such a sinful angel." He gave a fanged grin. 

Mondo rolled his eyes. "I get it, I'm being all bad and shit. I'm good with whatever you want, the night's pretty young after all. We could get you off, have dinner, and maybe go to your house…" 

Taka hummed. "I think it would be better to just stay here tonight. Just cuddle and watch television or something." He kissed him. "We've only been reunited for a few weeks, you realize that?" 

Mondo wrapped his arms around his neck and scooted closer to him. "Makin' up for lost time. I been wastin' all these years pretending I was good when I coulda been getting fucked by you." The dots connected in Taka's head as to what Mondo was doing when he felt the angel grind his ass down onto Taka's groin. He let his head fall back with a long moan. "I've never been a good angel, I accept that now."

Taka frowned. "Not true. You're a great angel. You're kind and caring, and you're the most loyal and compassionate person I know. Even if you pretend to be the big tough guy to be like your brother, your great in your own right. I wish you would see that." He kissed him. 

Mondo pouted and continued to grind against Taka's crotch, ignoring Taka’s praise. "No fair, how come you aren't gettin' all hot and bothered?" He scowled. "Am I not doin' it right? Does it not feel good?"

"It feels fantastic. I've just become good at keeping my composure while being pleasured sexually. Do you know how many random phone calls I've gotten mid-coitus that were imperative to my work in politics? I couldn't just not answer!" Taka shrugged. "You have to multitask sometimes in order to have both a good career and an active sex life." 

The grinding slowed for a moment as Mondo gave him an annoyed look. "Please tell me you're fuckin' joking." 

Taka folded his arms. "I'm not. You could suck my dick and I wouldn't make a peep if I so desired." 

He realized his mistake when he saw Mondo grin down at him. "Is that a challenge?" He scooted back and began unbuttoning Taka's slacks. 

"I'm not sure you're quite ready to do things like blowjobs, angel. That takes practice." 

"Then lemme practice right now!" Mondo crawled off of him and got on his knees on the floor. "I watched porn for this, I know how it works." 

Oh god...he really didn't think that...did he? "Mondo, porn is not an accurate representation of actual sex." 

There was a long pause as the angel processed those words. "It's...it's not?" He frowned. "Why the fuck not?" 

Taka sighed and held the bridge of his nose. "It's made to get you to climax, not inform you of the mechanics of intercourse." 

"How can you make sex sound so damn boring?"

He ignored the angel and continued. "It's going to focus on what's hot and what will be more of a turn on than anything." He sighed. "Do you still want to do this?"

Mondo frowned in thought. "Is it really that difficult?"

"It depends. I'm sure you'll be fine, just relax." 

"It's hard to relax now, I'm nervous! What if you don't like it or I accidentally bite your dick off or somethin'?" Mondo yelled, obviously getting nervous. 

Taka blinked and gave a thoroughly concerned look. "Those are two very different outcomes Mondo." He spoke in a very quiet tone. 

Mondo blushed. "You know what I mean!" 

"Where did that earlier confidence go?" 

"It died when you started tellin' me to relax!" 

Taka couldn't help but snort. "Well, that's what you're supposed to do. And we don't have to do it if you don't want to right now. Take things slow. We have plenty of time, don't we?" He smiled. 

Mondo sighed and slumped. "Would you hate me if I said I'm chickenin' out?" He looked up at him. "Don't tell anybody about this though, that would be embarrassing." 

"Why would I tell anyone about our very private sexual encounters?" 

"I dunno! Just don't do it!" Mondo groaned and scrubbed his face. "Can we just, like, get you off and then order a pizza or somethin'? 'M startin' to get hungry…" 

Taka sighed. "Well, you saying you could bite my dick off pretty much killed any arousal I started out with, so we can skip right to dinner." 

"I'm sorry! It just popped into my head!" 

"Doesn't make it any less of a terrifying prospect." Taka buttoned his slacks and leaned forward, kissing Mondo. "I can order the food, you go shower and get changed, alright?"

"Okay. There's soda and beer in the fridge." 

"What about juice and water? Something more healthy." 

"No." 

Taka raised a brow. "No as in you don't have it?" 

Mondo stood up. "No as in I ain't got it and I'm not gettin' it." He sighed and began walking down his hallway to his room.

Taka gave a defeated sigh and pulled out his phone. At least he had managed to learn how to use an app to order pizza online (after a few lessons from his cook/maid, of course). "I love you, thank you for trying anyway!" 

Mondo waved a dismissive hand. "Love you too, thanks for the handy." Taka couldn't help but respond to Mondo's crude description with a snort as he ordered their food.


End file.
